The Stone Crumbles
by crazykittymomma
Summary: Hiccup returns home injured from being held captive. Old characters and new will be introduced.
1. Chapter 1

**I do not own "How to Train Your Dragon."**

 **I have been working on this story for some time over the last 2 years and I finally have the courage to submit. It still isn't complete but I finally am getting to where I want it to flow. Please let me know your thoughts.**

Astrid sat at the kitchen table, spinning a piece of oval metal with her thumbs on the table. She watched it spin around, until it lost it's momentum, and toppled until it lay flat on the wood. She then picked it up, and spun it again.

Outside, she could hear the wind beginning to pick up outside just as night was falling upon the village. She knew it would storm. The dragons on the island were becoming a little restless. She had to put Stormfly away in the stables earlier than she wanted to. Now, she sat at the table, trying to be patient. Trying to do what her mother-in-law was asking her to do. With each passing day, it was growing more and more difficult to keep her wishes.

"Try to get along with Mom while I am gone, please?" were Hiccup's words to her before he left two weeks ago. Those words kept ringing in her ears when her patience were beginning to wear thin.

Valka and Astrid hadn't completely seen eye to eye since she and Hiccup married. That was when Astrid moved in. Although both were very strong and independent, their personalities were clashing a little bit. Especially the last week. Hiccup had left, alone, to take care of some matters over at Outcast Island. He wasn't going to be gone for more than a week. Here, it was week two. And Astrid was growing worried.

"He's fine," Valka said to her on day two past his expected arrival. "He's probably still helping them rebuild from the hurricane that passed through a month ago."

Astrid didn't think so. He would have sent a Terrible Terror to deliver a message to them if that were the case. But, Valka wasn't worried. Astrid looked up to her because she was one of the strongest women she had ever met, outside of Mala. Her patience were wearing. Especially now that the rain was coming.

Valka came from her bedroom, poured two bowls of soup for she and Astrid, and took a seat across from her. Silence hung between them, other than the wind outside. Astrid had picked up her piece of metal and instead of spinning it on the table, she moved it around between the gaps of her finders in her left hand. This way she could eat a little bit.

When the sudden wave of rain came over them, Astrid had to bite her tongue from telling Valka they should have gone after Hiccup.

"I know you are worried," Valka said a moment later.

"I just want to know he's okay," Astrid replied.

"You worry too much," Valka said to her.

Astrid let some silence pass between them. She was trying to bite her tongue. "They have never been gone this long. Not without sending a Terrible Terror."

"Even on Dragon's Edge?"

"We were all together most of the time back then. We didn't go alone too often. Not for more than a day. Two weeks is a little long, Mom." Astrid sighed. "He shouldn't have gone alone. I should have gone with him."

"But he asked you to stay here and help the village," Valka said.

Astrid sighed. "I know, and that hurts."

"He trusts you to help run the village, Astrid. I think he chose wisely as a chief."

"I don't know if he's alive or dead," Astrid spoke quietly.

Valka pushed her bowl of soup aside. "Astrid, I didn't know the same thing when Stoick was gone. Back when we only had ships and boats to rely on, it was easily a month or more before they would be back home. When he became chief, we had just been married not long before. The winter came and his father became very ill. He became chief shortly before I became pregnant with Hiccup. It took me some time to get used to as well. Stoick was gone for a month or more during my pregnancy. Gothi had placed me on bedrest while he was away." Valka gave Astrid a weak smile, and after a long pause, she said, "If it wasn't for your mother I wouldn't have been able to carry Hiccup as long as I did."

Astrid smiled softly. The thought of her mother and her now mother-in-law as friends always warmed her for a little bit. She missed her family. Valka was making sure to keep her memory alive. Since Valka had been back, she would tell Astrid stories about when they were young girls. Astrid's mother had wanted to hunt dragons, but Stoick's father had banned women from being involved in the dragon slayings. Eventually, she and Valka grew apart because of their different views on how to manage the dragons.

"When Stoick made it home I didn't speak to him for a week," Valka chuckled, continuing on with her story. "Then, I went into labor with Hiccup. I forgot all about telling him how much I loathed him for leaving me pregnant." She smiled slightly. She stood up from the table to get herself and Astrid something warm to drink. The air in the home was also growing chilly, so she threw a log onto the fire.

Astrid became lost in her thoughts for another moment, toying with her metal disk. When Valka came back with some warm yak's milk, Valka asked her, "What's on your mind?"

Astrid sighed again. "I want to know that he made it to Outcast Island safely. I want to know that Alvin did not attack him again—"

"Wasn't there a treaty signed a few years back—"

"There was, but I still do not trust the man," Astrid said coldly. She sighed and leaned up against the table a little bit more.

"Toothless won't let anything happen to him without a fight, Astrid. He will protect Hiccup until his last breath, you know that."

"Why aren't you worried?" Astrid said with her voice raised. She was tired of hearing Valka's words trying to reassure her, when they just kept making her angrier. "He is your son-"

Valka cut her off by putting her hand up, motioning her to stop, especially with the tone. "I care, Astrid." She kept her voice soft. "I learned a long time ago that a chief is going to do what he is going to do—what he has to do. For the village. Hiccup is the chief. I left him long ago when he was a baby. I loved him, but after Cloudjumper stole me, I realized the dangers I put him in that night. As we flew off I saw Stoick struggle to get out of our home. Thankfully, he made it out safe with our son. I knew they would be okay. I knew if I were to come back—I wasn't coming back without Cloudjumper. Back then Stoick would have killed her—and Hiccup would have died if he had been in the middle of us adults and a dragon."

Astrid looked away. She was digesting the words, beginning to understand more than she did before. Part of her had a small angry flame burning inside her at Valka because of Hiccup. She had seen him struggle when they were young without his mother. Stoick could be very hard on him. Astrid had seen Hiccup try for years just to fit in with everyone. He only searched for acceptance. He was lanky and clumbsey. The opposite of a Viking. Without Valka being there to sort out Stoick and Hiccup's wall they had built between them, their relationship became tense. That was, up until he met Toothless.

"I came back one night," Valka said suddenly. It took Astrid by surprise. "Hiccup was probably about four or five years old. I had found a weak spot in the roof of the house, and peeled away the shingle. I just wanted to get a look at my son. He was having a nightmare. I wanted to reach down a touch him." She had reached out and grabbed the air slowly. She sighed. "I thought we were spotted after I sat and watched him, so I mounted Cloudjumper and left. I decided I wouldn't come back. I was risking too much already."

"You are here now," Astrid said, reaching her hand across the table to Valka's. "He needs you. WE need you. We are glad you are here. I don't know what he would have done without you here when Stoick left us."

Valka gave a weak smile. Suddenly, the light in the room shifted with the cracks of lightning outside.

"I think I will head to bed, Astrid," said Valka. "Sleep well."

"Thanks, Mom," Astrid replied. She sat her piece of metal on the table and watched Valka close the door to her bedroom.


	2. Chapter 2

Despite the rain, Astrid decided to hurry out to the stables to check on Stormfly before the storm grew too fierce. She pulled on her cloak, and hurried outside. The lightning was growing more intense in the distance. As Astrid hurried down to the stables, she held her breath. Lightning made her nervous since she became temporarily blind as a result of it.

Astrid kept watch over her footing and also the sky. She didn't want to trip in her hurry, but also didn't want to be blindsided yet again by a bolt.

Stopping just outside the stables, she noticed something seemed, different.

The lightning seemed too…rhythmic out in the sea. Astrid became a little mesmerized with the lightning. The funny part about the lightning, is it didn't look like it was coming from the sky. It looked as though it were coming from the ocean. It couldn't have been heat lightning. It was too cold outside for it to do that.

When it struck again, she counted. "One muttin-head—Two muttin-head—three—"

The lightning struck again.

"One muttin-head—Two muttin-head—three—"

And again.

Astrid gasped, panic flew flew Astrid's veins, and she rushed inside the stables. She knew they were S.O.S. signals from Toothless. Hiccup had created the code just in case someone had been stranded. They were out to sea and in trouble. She came face to face with her dragon, Stormfly, who was restless inside her pin.

"You sense it as well, don't you girl?" Astrid said to her. She pulled the lock from the gate, and Stormfly busted through. Astrid climbed on top of Stormfly and they began heading out to sea, not thinking twice now about the danger they were heading towards.

Unfortunately, before they weren't even off the island, Cloudjumper jumped in front of them. Valka was standing on top of her dragon, blocking Stormfly's path. Valka was in her night gown and had her heavy cloak pulled over herself, her hood stuck to her from the weight of the water.

"What are you doing out here?!" Valka demanded.

"The light!" Astrid yelled. "That's Toothless—"

"That is just lightning, Astrid!" Valka yelled back at her.

"It's Hiccup!"

"That storm will swallow you whole. You can't—"

"Let's go Stormfly—"

Cloudjumper and Stormfly were beginning to fight each other, sensing their master's anger. They were exchanging squawks, biting at each other's legs, and were beginning to make sudden movements towards each other. Their trainers couldn't predict their actions. Valka tumbled off of Cloudjumper, but was caught by her own dragon just before she started to fall towards the waves against the sand below them.

"Valka!" Astrid screamed, throwing her hood from over her head and pointing at her mother-in-law's face from above. She pulled Stormfly backwards a little bit so that the fighting would end between the dragons. "I am going! With or without you. Your choice. No one is stopping me!"

"Astrid—"

"Are you coming or not!" Astrid screamed. Her eyes were drawn behind Valka, who was climbing up to the top of Cloudjumper, again to the light she was seeing. "Something is wrong—"

Astrid was beginning to sob. "It's them, Mom. I know it is!"

Valka sighed, knowing here she was not going to stop Astrid. She was being stubborn like her parents, especially her mother right now. Astrid was going to do what she was going to do. Astrid was not a child, and Valka was trying to treat her like one. The truth was, she was trying to keep her safe. She wouldn't forgive herself if Astrid was hurt while Hiccup was away.

"Astrid, you are a stubborn girl!" Valka yelled, and with that she and Cloudjumper moved aside to allow Stormfly to pass by them.

Stormfly zoomed forward before Valka changed her mind. Valka and Cloudjumper turned and they flew into the storm together. They could tell that they were going into the very heart of it.

They were not far past the shore of their island when they hit a cold, hard pouring rain. The wind was picking up as well. Stormfly was blown sideways a few times, but she caught herself and kept pace with Cloudjumper.

Valka was beginning to have doubts about the "lightning" Astrid was claiming to see. She sighed, guided Cloudjumper in front of Stromfly, stopping them from going any further.

"Astrid, that is lightning," she cried. "It isn't Toothless—we need to get home and get safe—"

Just then, about two miles ahead, the light came through the clouds in front of them. Without even a thought, Stormfly flew upwards into the clouds, above a great deal of the storm. Due to the pressure, Astrid felt her ears begin to pain, and then they popped. Higher above the storm, they weren't experiencing the heaviness of the cold rain below. Stormfly halted, looking for the light again.

Valka met them there seconds later.

"Astrid, quit being—"

"Stupid!?" Astrid screamed to her. "Hiccup is out here!"

"I refuse to believe this—"

"Valka—"

It was the first time Astrid had called her that directly to her face in a year. She liked having someone to call "Mom" since she had lost her parents before she could entirely grow up.

"If you knew this was your son, you would be going out there after him." Astrid was trying to catch her breath. She was angry. Her chest was heaving between the screams and the cold air she was taking in. "Years ago, Hiccup developed an S.O.S. signal with fire bolts. Just in case—well, things like this happen. Toothless could be down in the water right now—" She was breathing heavier."—Don't you get it?"

Valka sighed, and turned her head to look for the signals.

A moment went by. No signal, no lightning.

"Toothless-" Astrid breathed. "Please—"

Suddenly, the light returned, and Stormfly was off again towards the light. Cloudjumper followed. Then, Stormfly suddenly nose-dived down out of the clouds. Astrid's stomach turned suddenly due to the instant rush. The heavy rain was now on them again, leaving Astrid even colder than she was before.

Stormfly hovered with Astrid as they searched the surroundings through the rain. The sea was black. The waves were rocking with the wind. The thunder cracked heavily, but no lightning, again.

Valka was close by, and she didn't say a word to Astrid. Not even after a few moments of waiting.

Astrid worried they had missed their opportunity. She was searching the waters below them for any sign of someone below or within sight. With how dark and heavy the rain was, there was little chance of seeing something. Worry grew in her chest and her throat, and her mind began to see the image of her husband and Toothless slowly sinking to the bottom of the rapid sea.

Suddenly, another sound was heard, startling them all, and both Stormfly and Cloudjumper turned and flew a few hundred yard into the sea.

A moment later, there it was: A small sailboat rocking in the heavy waves. Its mast was smoldering to they believed a lightning strike a short time ago. All that was there was about 6 feet of post. The boat was barely big enough to hold two dragons inside. The heavy rain was doing a good job at keeping the fire down. As they grew a few feet away, they recognized Toothless, who was trying to make another plasma blast. He was out of power.

"Oh no!" cried Valka.

"Toothless!" Astrid screamed, and in turn it hurt her throat. She could barely hear the sounds of his tail clank the boat as he wagged it with glee as she approached. He was lying in the bottom of the boat, not getting up to greet them.

Both Valka and Astrid jumped down into the boat, their dragons floating above them, riding the wind so that their masters could inspect their findings.

Astrid approached Toothless and he licked her face and cooed excitedly. She could barely see him through the wet darkness that surrounded them. A crack of lightning made her jump, and Toothless put his head against her cheek gently to keep her close to him.

The boat rocked suddenly, throwing Valka backwards. She caught herself before she went overboard. Astrid reached a hand out to her and pulled her close to them again.

"Where is he?" Valka asked. The alarm in her voice wasn't hidden. This was real. Astrid had been right.

Toothless barely unfolded his wings as he cooed gently. Astrid could tell he seemed nervous. She knew he was protecting Hiccup from the wind and the rain. Astrid stuck her hand down into his wings. She felt a cold skin at her fingertips.

"Hiccup! Hiccup she screamed!"

Valka forced Toothless to move his top wing over Hiccup up more, and she in turn went under.

She knew her son was unconscious. He would have greeted them had he not been. She knelt down and listened with her ear for breathing from his lips. She could feel shallow breaths against her cheek, and it sounded as though something was blocking his airway for a clean breath. He was sick, she gathered.

"We need to get home," Valka said, tucking Toothless's wing back down to protect Hiccup.

"Mom—"

"Leave him under there, Astrid," Valka called to her. She gestured Stormfly down to them, got into her saddle bag, and pulled a length of rope from them. She tied one end around the mast, and then threw to rope to Cloudjumper. Together the two dragons started pulling the small boat towards the island. Valka nearly lost her balance again from the sudden pull of the boat, but caught herself

When Valka turned around, she saw Astrid curled up over Toothless. She was in tears, sobbing uncontrollably.

Valka sat down next to Astrid. "Easy," she said, pulling Astrid into her arms, letting her cry. She realized her fingers felt numb when she reached to hug Astrid. They both were numb with cold. "It's going to be okay."

Toothless cooed at them gently. Together, they allowed Cloudjumper and Stormfly to tow them back home.


	3. Chapter 3

Eret opened his eyes, hearing an unexplained noise downstairs. He wasn't surprised he heard it over the rain. He was always ready and waiting at night for an ambush.

Someone had entered and tripped over the chair he had placed in front of the stairway. He wasn't expecting company, especially this time at night. The stranger was uninvited.

He stood up slowly, and grabbed his sword from under his bed. He slowly crept to the other side of the room, trying to keep quiet, waiting for the stranger to enter the room. He was confident it was either Drago or one of his men. It would make more sense that it would be one of his pee-ons. If Drago said jump, the men jumped. Eret did it himself under Drago's command. He stood on one side of the doorway, waiting.

The steps that approached were loud. An intruder would want to keep quiet when they came inside, especially if they were positioning for an attack on the home's occupant. Obviously, falling over the chair would have caused some noise. The intruder should have left the house by this point from the commotion they had just made. Oh, well. Eret was ready.

The intruder pushed Eret's bedroom door open and began to enter. They didn't make it far. Eret jumped, grabbed the person by their arm, pushing the person into his door. Due to the force, the door snapped off the hinges, and they knocked into the wall.

Eret pushed the intruder up to the wall once he regained his balance. He held his blade under their chin. He wasn't letting Drago take him back. He wasn't going back to him, or let him kill him, at least without a good fight.

"Er-eret," came a quiet, weak voice.

Eret's gripped relaxed on his blade and the intruder. He realized just then the person he had been holding was of small stature. And very cold and wet.

"Astrid," he said quietly. He let out a sigh, and turned away from her.

"Eret—"

"Why would you just come barging in like that?!" he cried angrily. "I could have killed you—I could have sliced your head off—"

"Eret—"

He suddenly felt a wave of panic go through his torso as he lit the candle next to his bed, and he turned, pushed her back against the wall and lifted her chin up gently with the side of his hand, inspecting her skin. Just as he feared. He had knicked her skin with his blade.

"Astrid, I'm sorry," he breathed out, and pulled her over to his bed and sat her down. He barely noticed she was trying to talk to him as he crossed the room to a nightstand, where a bucket sat. He came back with a cloth he was ringing out. When he sat down next to her and touched her bare arm, he realized how cold she really was.

He sat back, scanning her with his eyes. She was soaked, and wore no cloak. Her skin felt ice cold. Tears were in her eyes, and she was shaking. He touched her face gently, panic setting in.

"Astrid—Why are—you are froze—"

"It's Hiccup," she breathed. "He—We—"

"It's okay, lass," Eret said to her. He pulled a blanket from his bed up over her shoulders, then proceeded to putting the cloth up to her neck to soak up the blood. He realized then that the water on the cloth was warmer than her body.

"Eret—"

"Astrid, why are you out here in this weather—you could give yourself—"

Suddenly, a loud squawk from Stormfly made them both jump suddenly. Astrid turned to Eret again, pushed his hand away from her and sighed.

"Eret, we need your help," Astrid said gently. Her eyes were pleading. She stood up, grabbed his hand and pulled him towards the doorway. "Hiccup needs help."

Eret reached for his sword, but Astrid stopped him.

"Not that kind of help," she said quietly.

The rain had calmed down a little bit since Astrid and Valka had left towards the ocean to retrieve Hiccup. But, it was still cold and windy. Eret was already cold when they were halfway to the docks. When he saw Valka below in a small boat, with Toothless, he became more curious. Astrid hadn't really told him all of the details.

Stormfly flew in closer, but Eret and Astrid dropped to the docks. He followed her into the boat, noting that the boat was not a boat made of wood from Berke. The boat was made of Elm.

"Outcast Island," he said to himself.

"Eret!" Valka cried. "Can you carry Hiccup to the house?"

"Hiccup?"

Valka moved Toothless's wing, and Eret pushed his lantern towards where Toothless laid. What he saw made him gasp.

Eret carried the unconscious chief upstairs to his master bedroom in the upstairs loft, trying not to jar him around too much. Astrid and Valka entered the room behind him, and immediately hurried to get the bed ready. Stormfly and Cloudjumper made sure their ridered were safe inside the home before they took their leave back to the stables to rest.

Before Eret laid Hiccup down in bed, Valka had laid down two furs on Hiccup's side of the bed. Toothless shot a small blast into the hearth of the fireplace in the attempt to light and warmth in the room. Astrid was lighting candles around the room as well.

Eret pulled the blanket that had been draped over Hiccup on their small trek to the Haddock home in an attempt to keep him dry. All three sat back a moment and just looked at Hiccup for a moment, taking in what they were seeing.

He was wearing the same shirt and trousers as he had when he left. They were dirty and ripped in places. His shirt was barely intact.

"I bet he hasn't been out of these since he left two weeks ago," Astrid sighed. She pulled a knife from her boot, and started cutting the fabric off of him. As she did, Valka pulled another fur over him to help him warm up.

They noted his dirty skin, seeing the dirt run off of him from the droplets of rain the blanket hadn't held—and the cold sweat on his forehead. Eret reached his hand up to touch Hiccup's forehead. He gaged his body temperature a few times with his hands. The results were the same.

"Fever," Eret confirmed. With that he left the room to go fetch a bucket of water and a cloth.

While Astrid cut away some more of the cloth and gently pulled it from under Hiccup, Valka inspected his body. He had bruises all over, mostly noted around his right shoulder and forearm. As Astrid cut the fabric away she gulped more tears and sobs back.

"Look at this," Valka said quietly, pointing to his right wrist. There was deep bruising and cuts there, indicating Hiccup had been tied up. Astrid sniffled a little more, but continued to work.

Eret returned with the bucket of water and a rag. He dipped it inside the bucket, rang it out, and began folding it. He wiped the cloth along Hiccup's forehead, cheeks and neck. At first he was removing some of the excess dirt. He rang it out again, and left it on his forehead.

Once Hiccup was naked, they inspected him a little closer.

His right shoulder and arm had the most severe of the bruising. Along his hairline they found deep cuts that had been healing over the last few days or weeks. His lip had been busted, and his right cheek showed yellowish marks. The area around his right eye had been healing. A very small faint of yellow of a bruise showed.

His pegleg was missing. The cloth that he had placed between his stump and his pegleg had been changed. Astrid could tell because there were no marks showing wear and tear from walking with his prosthetic.

Valka's attention kept coming back to his right arm. She had a sinking feeling in her stomach. She bit the inside of her lip, took a deep breath and sighed.

"It's dislocated," she said to them. "I need to reset it.

"Now?" asked Astrid.

Valka nodded. "I'd rather do it while he's unconscious."

Astrid took a deep breath in and let it out. She was holding in another sob. She felt Eret touch her shoulder gently to calm her. Goodness, his hand felt warm. Was she really that cold? It was then she realized she and Valka were both still soaking wet from the rain.

Valka decided to clean Hiccup up a little bit before she would set his shoulder. She hurried through. He was shaking as she did. As she cleaned him up, she noticed few more healed scraps and some more yellow spots around his body.

"I'm not used to seeing him so weak," Valka said, more to herself than anyone.

Eret could feel Astrid shaking under his hand. He went to the fire, and realized that the logs inside had previously been burned. They weren't producing enough heat. He needed to add more logs to get the room warmer for the trio.

Astrid was startled out of her trance when Eret put a dry blanket over her shoulders. She pulled it closer around herself, finding not only some warmth, but also some emotional comfort.

"You need to get dried off," he said to her. "You won't be doing him any favors getting yourself sick."

Astrid nodded and sighed.

"That goes to you as well, Valka," Eret said.

Valka nodded absently, barely comprehending what Eret was telling her. She was preparing herself mentally to reset Hiccup's arm. She let out a sigh, and leaned into Hiccup to start to set his shoulder.

"Should we let Gothi do it?" Astrid asked, panic showing in her voice. She wanted Gothi. She hated to admit it but she trusted Gothi over Valka with this type of injury.

"No—I—I can do it," Valka said to her quietly.

A moment later, a loud crack echoed in their ears throughout the room, a sudden scream from Hiccup filled the room as well, and Astrid found herself in a heap on the floor. Her sobs she could not hold in any longer, and her tears fell, not silently, but violently. She had broken completely.


	4. Chapter 4

*****I do not own How to Train Your Dragon or its characters.*****

 **Hey, guys! Just getting the hang of this whole upload thing on Fanfiction.**

 **Honestly, I was not expecting such love I have been getting from the story. Thank you!**

 **Also, I have been editing some things around. I know someone asked for more Toothless feels, and that will come soon. Right now, just trying to get through what I thought was the most difficult to write.**

 **Also, some of you might be asking why I chose Eret over Snotlout or Fishlegs to come help Valka and Astrid. There is just…something about Eret I like. I get the feeling he could be a big-brother to Astrid. He also seems more trustworthy. In this story you will probably start understanding why I chose Eret.**

 **Also, I am open to any suggestions. There are a few more chapters planned after this one. I am coming up on some writer's block. Hopefully that goes away soon!**

Dawn was beginning to approach. The wind and rain were still surrounding the island of Berke. The storm had died down considerably. No one had slept yet. No one could, despite the fatigue they were all feeling, especially Valka and Astrid.

After arguing with Eret for an hour, Astrid finally agreed to take a bath to warm up. Toothless was kind enough to heat the water up for her. She didn't soak very long. Once she felt the chill leave her body, she was back upstairs with Hiccup. Soon after, Valka had left to go warm herself up.

Astrid sat down at the edge of their bed with a freshly wet cloth to place over Hiccup's head again. His fever hadn't gotten any worse, but it had not broken for that matter. As she studied him, she braided her damp hair.

The way she felt right now, she wished Hiccup was the one braiding it. When her anxiety was setting off, Hiccup always made her soak in a hot bath, and afterwards he'd braid her hair for her, and talk to her until she felt at ease. Only he ever noticed her anxiety. She'd always cross her arms and almost would hold herself. He never pointed it out to her until they were alone. After marrying and moving in with him a year ago, it took a long time to let him see her so weak. With him being so sick and injured, at this point she didn't care who saw her emotionally weak.

Eret was the only one out of their friends (or everyone on the island for that matter) that she allowed her guard down with. Even with Fishlegs, she never let herself completely off guard. Since Stormfly showed a lot of trust in Eret over everyone outside of herself and Hiccup, it was easiest for her to let her guard down with him.

Astrid rewet the cloth again a little while later. This time, she found herself becoming loss in Hiccup's facial features. A cut was lining his jaw looked as though it would scar. His lip has been split open and healing; a large scab was over it. She brushed his hair back from his face, and saw what appeared to have been a deep gash in his hairline. It appeared as though it had almost completely healed.

She laid down next to him, as close as she would allow herself to. She let out a deep breath, and once she felt more settled in, she could hear his breathing. The breaths he took were shallow. Suddenly, he coughed, and then winced in pain in his sleep. Astrid wondered if he had a few broken ribs. She placed her hand on his good arm gently, thankful to feel his touch again. He was home. That, was something she was thankful for. She closed her eyes, finding comfort in her thoughts, and she fell asleep.

"Eret," Valka's voice said quietly.

Eret felt somone shaking him awake. He opened his eyes, realizing he wasn't in his loft, and then remembered he was at the Haddock home. Gaining his bearings, he realized he had fallen asleep at Hiccup's work desk.

"Eret," Valka said again. This time he made eye contact with her. "I am going out to see Gothi. Can you stay here with Astrid and Hiccup? I won't be too long."

He rubbed his eyes, yawned and nodded. "Why are you going to go see her?"

"I am going to go get some herbs from her."

"For?" he asked curiously.

"For Hiccup's fever…among other things," she said quietly. She saw him eye her questionably. Finally, she sighed. "I am afraid he's gotten an infection. I'd rather be safe than sorry. He's been beaten to Valhalla and back again."

"Valka, why not bring the old broad here?" Eret asked. "Surely she could help him."

Valka shook her head. "If I brought her here Hiccup wouldn't forgive me. You know how proud he is. You know how he feels about his father. He's afraid of looking as a weak chief. No, we don't need Gothi over here. Not yet at least."

Eret shook his head. He didn't agree with Valka of not allowing Gothi over, but that was her wish. "Okay." He sighed. "How is he?"

Valka looked over at the bed. Astrid had been asleep for maybe half an hour, and Toothless lay at the floor beside Hiccup's side of the bed. He hadn't moved since he had his shoulder reset.

"He's still unresponsive. He's dehydrated—"

"That is a surprise considering you and Astrid just rescued him from a monsoon," Eret said. Valka slapped him in the back of the head. "Well—"

"—and he's wheezing, which indicates to me he might have an infection or illness in his chest. He's lost some weight, too. I'll return. Just look after them for me."

Eret nodded. After Valka left, he waited for his body to adjust a little more. Finally, when he felt more awake, he checked the fire, put another piece of wood into it, then turned to check on Hiccup again.

Toothless growled lowly from being startled, but calmed once he realized it was Eret.

"It's not like you to growl at me, not anymore at least," Eret said to him. He knelt down and rubbed the dragon's chin. That was when he noticed the scales around his snout were a little worn. As he looked, he could see that a leather muzzle had been around Toothless's face for some time. Not long, but enough to rub from Toothless struggling to break it lose. He knew the signs all too well.

"Toothless, I'm sorry, my friend," he said gently. He continued to study the dragon's body. Other than the marks on his snout, he looked okay. He then noticed the saddle was missing, and the mechanical tail. Thinking about it, he did not recall seeing those items in the boat, but of course he was trying to take care of Hiccup.

Eret's attention changed over to Hiccup when he heard him cough hard. Hiccup winced through the coughs that rattled his body. He didn't wake, and settled himself down. Eret was surprised Astrid hadn't woken up. Eret reached for the cloth on Hiccup's forehead. It was rather dry. He touched Hiccup's forehead again, and felt a small twinge of panic go through him.

Hiccup's fever was rising slightly.

Valka arrived home with the herbs from Gothi's shortly after sunrise, carrying them in a jar. She was thankful at this point that she had not run into anyone in the village. The last few days, the locals had been asking when Hiccup would return to the island. Some had begun to worry, and were trying to figure out how they could get Spitelout to be chief in the event Hiccup didn't return.

Valka pulled off her cloak as she walked through the door. She hung it on the coat rack near the fire downstairs to help with the dampness. She then pulled a bowl from the table closer to her, sprinkled the herbs in to it, capped the jar, and began crushing the herbs into a finer powder.

She leaned against the table waiting for the water in the kettle to warm up. It didn't take long, seeing as she didn't want the broth too warm. She poured the water into the bowl, tested it and realized it was still too warm for Hiccup to swallow. She sighed, stood with her hand on her hip and waved the steam away with her other hand. She sighed again.

The steam continued to rise, and this was when she leaned forward on the table, and let herself relax slightly, letting her guard down. This was where the tears began to form inside her eyes, letting her emotions take over her body.

Her son was injured.

Her son was sick.

He hadn't been fed properly, he had lost weight.

He had possibly been beaten, abused. The rope marks on his wrist indicated it.

Of course, she wouldn't know until he woke up and had the strength to talk to her.

She leaned back up, leaned herself back against the table, and thought again.

She knew Eret was confused as to why she wouldn't bring Gothi over. Even in the early mornings, the whole village was nosey. If they had seen Gothi walking up towards the Haddock home, the whole town would have been talking. Had they realized it was Hiccup who was injured and sick, they'd, again, be thinking they needed a new chief.

Stoick had a way about him. Even when he did come home injured, he always was…well, Stoick. His size made him intimidating, his booming voice made him unapproachable. His strength not only gave their small village strength, but also an everlasting hope. Stoick had injuries occasionally. A gash here, a broken finger there. The worst condition he came home with was Eel Pox. Nothing like Hiccup's current state.

Hiccup, well, he was small but mighty. Despite everything Astrid had told her he had been through over the years with the village people, he still managed to have confidence, most of the time, and keep order in some way. With him being so vulnerable right now, she wanted to keep him safe, until she knew she needed Gothi. Valka had cared for many dragons over the years without help. She could have gone for the herbs on her own, but to save time, she went to Gothi for them instead. The elder did not ask her why. She simply obliged and sent Valka on her way.

She waved the steam away again with her hand once more, then proceeded up the stairs to help her son. She found Astrid awake sitting on her side of the bed. Eret was sitting where Valka had planted herself half the night. A small bit of anxiety rushed through her again.

"What's wrong?" she asked.

"His fever has increased," Eret said quietly, moving out of the way so Valka could take her seat beside her son. She placed the bowl on the nightstand.

She touched his forehead and cheeks, realizing his body temperature had indeed gone up. She pulled the furs off of him a little bit more. His skin still felt very cold, and he was shaking worse than he had before.

"Another blanket, please, Eret," she said, reaching for the water bucket and rag. She looked over at Astrid. Gray sacks were forming under her eyes. It was then that Valka realized she probably hadn't been sleeping well over the last few weeks with Hiccup being gone. She remembered not sleeping well herself when Stoick was away, one reason why her pregnancy with Hiccup was difficult.

Valka stood up to help Eret place the blanket over Hiccup, then she took a seat again, and began to wipe Hiccup down again with the rag. She paused to lean her head down over his chest. His heart rate sounded okay, but his breathing he was struggling with. She could hear his lungs crackling.

"I've got some herbs that should help this," she said quietly. She rested the rag back into the bucket, then reached over for the bowl. "Astrid, could you hold his head up. See if we can't get him to swallow some of this."

Astrid repositioned herself to help Hiccup. She held his head up, but found herself shaking. Eret placed his hand under Hiccup's head as well, noticing she was struggling. She was physically weak. Eret made eye contact with Valka briefly, letting her know of his concern.

Valka spooned some of the broth and poured it into Hiccup's mouth. She rubbed his cheeks gently, and he swallowed a little bit. He only swallowed about five or six spoonfuls before he coughed hard. He winced loudly.

"How long should we wait before the herbs start working?" Astrid asked.

"Give it time. He has only been home for a few hours," Valka said.

"I wish he would wake up," Astrid said quietly.

"What did you do when he lost his leg, Astrid? Didn't you say he was unconscious for about a week or so?" Eret asked.

It was something they didn't really talk much about. Astrid sighed and thought a moment. She was biting the inside of her cheek, and crossing her arms like she always did when she was nervous. At that moment she wished he was awake to comfort her.

"Back then it was only his leg. Yes, he had some exhaustion, and we had to worry about his leg becoming infected. But, he wasn't like this. Not all over like this. We were all worried. But, eventually his health improved."

"Eventually," Valka said. "Give it some time. In the mean-time, try to catch up on sleep, okay? I know you haven't been sleeping well."

Astrid nodded. "Does Gothi know about Hiccup?"

Valka shook her head. "No one knows outside of this room. And I want to keep it that way, got me?" she asked the two of them. "Hiccup is in good hands between the three of us."

"I am telling you right now, Hiccup. Fix the saddle!"

Hiccup had welding tools thrown down at his face where he laid on the ground. One of them clipped the center of his forehead. He glared angrily up at the face that stared directly back at him: Dagur. His red hair was down past his shoulders now. He had missing teeth, and he was filthy all over. He looked as though he had crawled out of a hole only five moments before. Which was accurate considering they were inside a cave on Outcast Island.

Hiccup attempted to push himself up into a standing position. Pain was sheering through his side, feeling confident that he had a few broke ribs. The fall he and Toothless took earlier was the cause. He was confident they would have escaped had the gears on the saddle not been destroyed in the fall, and if he hadn't been knocked unconscious.

"Fix your saddle, Hiccup, so I can ride Toothless," Dagur said after a brief pause.

"I won't let you ride him, Dagur," Hiccup said. He wrapped his right arm around himself, using his left to hold himself. The pain in his side ached. "Even—even if I were to fix the saddle, do—do you really think he would let you ride him?"

"Oh, he will," said Dagur, with an evil grin taking hold of his face. "I have my ways, Hiccup."

Hiccup gave a low laugh. "I won't fix the saddle. I won't let you ride him."

Dagur threw himself at Hiccup and pushed him into the stone wall behind him. Hiccup felt his ribs break more. He tried not to let Dagger see his pain, but he couldn't hold back the wince that escaped his mouth. He slid down to the floor, using the wall for support to stay sitting up.

Dagur was now standing above Hiccup. He leaned down and held the mallet out to Hiccup. His breath smelled like rotten cabbage, much like the cabbage Mildew grew when he lived on Berke. Calmly, Dagur said again, "Here's your mallet. Now, the saddle."

Hiccup took in a breath. He felt his heart racing. He didn't want Dagur to see him scared. He mustered up some courage deep inside of him. "No, Dagur—"

Dagur swung his right fist back and connected it with Hiccup's jaw. The force threw Hiccup back to the ground. He could hear Toothless cry out from wherever he was in the cage. Hiccup hadn't actually seen where he was at just yet. Obviously, they had him pretty tied up or else he would have been there with Hiccup, defending him.

Hiccup put his hand up to try to tell Toothless he was all right. That was when he could taste the blood in his mouth.

"Hiccup, why are we playing this game?" Dagur asked. "Why are we dancing around this issue? You are under my imprisonment. Therefore, you do as I say—"

"Or what, Dagur?" Hiccup pushed the mallet away again. "You aren't going to get anywhere by bullying me. Even if I were to fix the saddle, Toothless won't let you ride him. He would throw you off. He would—"

Dagur tackled Hiccup again. In the struggle, Hiccup landed belly down, and Dagur grabbed his right arm and twisted it behind his back. The rattling upset Hiccup's side, causing him to wince. Dagur forced Hiccup to his knees. He then pinned him against the same wall he had fallen into previously.

Hiccup heard Toothless's squeals but he couldn't figure out where he was. He assumed he was in the cave with him, tied up somehow. He could hear chains not too far away rattle.

"You are wearing on my patience," said Dagur. "If you haven't caught on to my tone, Hiccup, I am not playing around. I want my saddle. I want it! So, the sooner you work on it, the sooner this little dance will end." He grabbed Hiccup's arm tighter and pulled. Then, he grabbed his hair. Hiccup couldn't hold back keeping his pain inside anymore. He winced in pain. He felt the air in his lungs leave him.

"Without that dragon, you are skinny and weak, Hiccup! Get that through your brain! You can't win with it!" Dagur was pushing Hiccup's head into the ground. "I am in control here! I will make the calls. I am telling you to FIX THAT SADDLE OR ELSE!"

A moment of silence went by, other than Hiccup's heavy breathing, trying to fill his lungs back up, and regulate. Hiccup could feel Dagger's long nails cutting into his forearm as he twisted it behind his back. Hiccup was feeling his heart thumping in his temples. His ribs were shearing in pain.

Suddenly, Dagur pulled more on Hiccup's arm. He held in his breath so not to cry out to upset Toothless more than what he already was. He could still hear the dragon's chains echoing around the room.

"Well—"

"My answer is still the same, Dagger—No—"

Hiccup suddenly felt his arm pull and snap. The pain radiated through his whole right side like water flowing through a dam. Hiccup screamed when the pain became too intense, and he felt his world go black around him.

 **Keep in mind, guys, I started writing this before Dagur actually became friends with Hiccup in RTTE. When that started happening, I attempted to try to convert it to Drago completely, but it wasn't working out at all. I like Dagur now, I really do, but let us pretend he is still as deranged as the first episodes of the series stated he was in, just for the sake of the story.**

 **Thanks!**


	5. Chapter 5

**Okay, so last story I CLEARLY explained before the story even began that there is a reason I chose Eret over the rest of the gang to help Astrid….People, please read the author's comments before and after the stories! This is not an "Astrid cheats on Hiccup" story, as I do not write that way and never have. I would NEVER break those two love birds up.**

 **Anyways, this is the next chapter.**

Astrid woke up to a blood wrenching screams from beside her. She darted up with a large gasp, her heart racing, knowing the screams were coming from Hiccup. She could already hear footsteps coming up the stairs to the room. Eret entered with Valka behind him. They had been downstairs talking prior to Hiccup's outburst.

"What's wrong?" she asked.

"I—I don't know—"Astrid started to reply.

"Toothless—"Hiccup was saying in between his screams. His voice was breaking and low. "I'm—okay—" Tears were welling up around his eye lids.

The dragon was using his snout to try to motion the boy's side slightly, trying to get him to realize he was there. He cooed worriedly, wondering if Hiccup would realize by noise he was there.

Valka sat down on the side of the bed and touched Hiccup's forehead. Immediately Astrid could see her concern on her face strengthening. "His fever has risen again—"

"Hiccup, wake up," Astrid said into his ear quietly. "You are home. Please—" When he screamed again, she broke into sobs. She put her head up against the side of his, feeling his burning, sweaty forehead against her's. "Hiccup—please, wake up."

He suddenly thrashed, causing Astrid to sit back up. "Get out—Toothless—"

"He's hallucinating," said Eret, reaching for the dry cloth that fell from Hiccup's head. "I'll get some fresh water."

As he descended down the stairs, Hiccup thrashed more violently, kicking his one good leg, moving the other slightly under the furs. "Leave me alone! Toothless!"

Valka pulled him up to a sitting position in her arms, holding him as though he were a child, his head leaning against her shoulder. He suddenly stopped screaming and jerking violently. His noises were replaced by sobbing. His good arm found its way around her around her neck, and he in turn buried his face under her chin. His sobs were making his breathing irregular; he winced every other breath.

Valka didn't know what to do or think. Never had Hiccup clung to her so tightly. He seemed as though he were a toddler, waking up from a horrible nightmare. She remembered the night she had come home to see him. He was holding her the way she had imagined him when he was little that night, if she had been able to comfort him. A warm feeling took over her body, just for a few seconds.

She held him like that for a few moments. Eret had returned up the stairs. When he saw Valka holding Hiccup, he stepped back out, giving the family some space. He felt slightly awkward being in the house. These guys were family. Even though he felt somewhat off placed, he didn't want to leave Valka and Astrid alone to help Hiccup. If he could be of any help to them, that was what he wanted to do. Until they turned him out the door, he would stay.

Hiccup seemed to have fallen asleep again. His sobs and heavy breathing subsided. Gently, Valka laid him back down, keeping mind of his arm. She turned back to the doorway, made eye contact with Eret to come inside. She reached into the bucket for the cold rag, rang it out, and dabbed Hiccup's forehead with it.

"I wish this fever would break," Valka said, breaking the silence. She pushed Hiccup's covers up more in the attempt to keep him warmer. She sighed, and turned to Astrid. "Are you all right?"

Astrid nodded and sighed. She wiped away a few tears on her face.

After a moment of silence, Eret looked to the skylight. "The village should be stirring up here soon. Valka, should we get Gothi?"

"No—"she said quickly. "He won't have it—"

"Valka—"

"I said no," she said again, very firmly.

Eret sighed and walked off again, taking his seat at Hiccup's work bench. He couldn't understand completely why she was being so stubborn about bringing Gothi over. But, Hiccup was not in his soul care. If Hiccup had been his brother, son, child…He would have already been at Gothi's once the sun had risen.

There was a knock at the door downstairs.

"Fishlegs!" Astrid said quietly, panic hitting her. "We were supposed to go riding. Eret—"

Eret put his hands up and shook his head. "It'll just make them wonder why I am over here." He had a point. Valka was wanting to keep Hiccup's return a secret. With Eret over this early in the morning, everyone would be wondering why he wasn't out on patrol like they would be assuming.

Valka stood and went down the stairs. They could hear her and Fishlegs talking for a few minutes. Astrid looked over and saw Eret rubbing his temples. They were all tired. It dawned on Astrid that Eret had never asked to leave, or asked if they needed help with Hiccup, other than carrying him up the stairs from the boat. He was just there, trying to help them.

"Eret—"

He looked up at Astrid, and decided to approach the bed. He sat down beside her on her side. She wasn't making eye contact with him, but she didn't need to. After a moment of silence, he placed a hand on her shoulder. She found comfort in it.

"Thank you," she said quietly. She looked up and gave him a weak smile.

"You are welcome," he said gently. "If I am overstepping my boundaries, or if you want me to leave, please tell me. I don't want to invade your privacy."

"No—No!" Astrid laughed lightly, holding back some tears. "When—" she sniffled, swallowed, and started again. "When we arrived at the docks, we knew we couldn't get him inside the house without help. Not that far, or as fast. I knew I could trust you. You are a private person, Eret. The gang—well, you know. It wouldn't have remained this private."

"Astrid, I hate to intrude on this. But, if Hiccup becomes worse, we really need to get Gothi over here." The look on Astrid's face told him he might have overstepped his boundaries. "I know you guys don't want to upset the village. I know you don't want to induce panic. But, Gothi would be the better choice right now. Maybe she has something stronger to help Hiccup's fever, and his chills."

Hiccup coughed heavily suddenly, wincing at the pain somewhere in his body. Astrid moved the cold rag around his sweaty forehead a little bit more. She never had she seen him this vulnerable. Even when he lost his leg, it wasn't like this. But, maybe it was because Gothi had him heavily medicated. Maybe Eret was right. They needed to bring Gothi over to help Hiccup.

Valka returned upstairs again with a tray. She had brought up some fruit for the three of them to share, a fresh piece of fish for Toothless and Hiccup's broth. She sat the tray down on the side table, and propped Hiccup up on some pillows in order to feed him the broth.

After Valka had two spoonfuls in Hiccup's mouth, Astrid asked, "What did you tell Fishlegs?"

"I told him that you weren't feeling well."

"He didn't ask about Hiccup?"

"Astrid, outside of this household no one knows he's back. Until he is better, we won't let anyone know."

"Not even Gobber?" Astrid asked.

Valka seemed a little taken aback. She spooned another bit of broth into Hiccup's mouth. She had forgotten about Gobber. She knew that they could trust him with Hiccup.

"We may want to have Gobber come visit. The village won't suspect if he comes." Valka said.

Hiccup tossed his head to the side a little bit, coughed hard, and moaned. His body continued to shake under the furs. Earlier, Valka had thrown two more over him. She pushed his wet strands of hair from his forehead gently. He turned his head and leaned into her touch, trying to relax.

Astrid sighed. She turned to Eret. She wanted Gothi. Hiccup had been home for half a day, and he seemed to be getting worse than improving. She knew it would take some time for his health to improve, but she did feel better with the thought of Gothi coming over to check on him. "Are you sure we shouldn't go get Gothi?"

"If the village saw her over here there would be a state of panic."

Hiccup coughed hard again, a low moan escaping his throat. Since his shreaking he couldn't get comfortable. His fever had risen, his chills were worse. Astrid rubbed her head out of frustration and exhaustion. How much longer would this go on? She didn't want to tell Valka off, and she didn't want to upset the village. What was she going to do?

Toothless cooed slightly, and placed his head on the bed. He nosed his face up towards Hiccup's face, gave him a gentle lick on the face. Toothless even seemed defeated that the dragon slobber didn't seem to make Hiccup jolt. He despised being licked by Toothless.

"You did tell Fishlegs that Astrid was sick, didn't you?" Eret said quietly. "He would tell the Dragon Riders. With Snotlout's mouth, and the twins, the village would hear of Astrid feeling ill. And in turn, if anyone saw Gothi over they would probably assume it was for Astrid."

Valka sighed. She nodded. She turned to them both, and gave Astrid a small smile. "I did tell Fishlegs you were ill—didn't I?"

Gobber arrived at the Haddock home with Gothi in the evening. The rain had finally gone. The sun had almost set. The sky was mixed with pink and orange behind them. Valka opened the door for them and invited them into the home, and paused to admire the view before she closed the door behind them. She let out a sigh, preparing herself for what was about to come.

"Ev'nin', Valka," Gobber said. "I 'eard Astrid was under the weather t'day."

"Hello, Gobber; Gothi," Valka said quietly. She realized Gobber's facial expression changed when he made eye contact with her. She knew it was obvious she looked tired and run down. No one was able to sleep with Hiccup's current physical state.

Valka closed the door behind her and latched it shut. When she turned she noticed Toothless was standing at the top of the stairs. Valka saw Gobber and Gothi eying him.

"Wait, what's—"

"The town cannot know, Gobber," Valka said, grabbing his arm earnestly.

"When did Hiccup get home?" Gobber asked Valka.

"Last night. He's unwell," Valka said to him. She turned to look at Gothi. "Gothi, I am sorry I lied to you, and Fishlegs. But, I had to protect Hiccup."

Gothi nodded to Valka, giving a weak smile, indicating she understood.

"So, Astrid isn't sick?" Gobber asked. He was clearly still confused as to what was going on completely.

"No," Valka said. "Come, upstairs."

Toothless turned as they approached the stairs and went to Hiccup's bedside. He was moaning every few minutes by this point, tossing and turning. His chills were becoming more severe. If Eret hadn't been there, Astrid would have lost her patience with Valka's lack there-of urgency over Hiccup at this point.

They had thrown another fur over Hiccup in the meantime, hoping it would ease his chills. They had continued to feed him broth but his fever continued to rage. Eret had continued wiping Hiccup's head with the damp cloth over the last several hours.

Gothi didn't wave Astrid or Eret away when she approached the bed. Typically, her bedside manner was not quite up to par, but today, she seemed extra kind. She didn't even ask Eret to leave the room, but he thought it best if he took a step back to allow some privacy for the family. He stood in the doorway instead.

Gothi reached out for Astrid's hand and gave it a little squeeze, and smiled slightly at her before she began her examination over Hiccup. No one spoke while she did. She gaged his fever and she then started pulling back some of the furs, checking his hydration, running her fingers along the bruises. Her expression changed to concern as she eyed current imperfections. She also checked on his shoulder and arm. She undid the sling holding Hiccup's shoulder in place, and gently lifted his arm. Hiccup winced slightly from the gentle movements, but she relaxed it again. As her examination continued, her expression softened.

The elder bit her lip, dumped out a small bag of sand onto the ground, and began to write.

"She says that Hiccup's body is trying to heal itself. He's in a small coma," Gobber said.

Valka sighed. "What can we do?"

"Gothi—"Astrid spoke up. Her voice was going in and out. "The fever and the chills. What can we do to help him through that?"

Gothi gave a weak smile, used her foot to smooth out the sand, and scribed again.

"Keep him covered up, like you are now. Continue with the broth. She will bring some extra herbs over this evening."

Valka nodded. "Anything else, Gothi?"

"She says his shoulder still isn't in its socket," Gobber said.

Eret felt the panic hit his chest at her words. He approached the group then. He saw the look on Astrid's face when she comprehended what Gobber had said. He knew she was on the verge of losing it. Without any hesitation, he picked her up from where she sat on the bed and began to carry her out of the room. She struggled against him, but she wasn't any match against him.

"No, Eret," she said to him.

Toothless lowered his head, moaning slightly.

Eret managed to get the struggling woman out of the bedroom right as Astrid could see Valka and Gothi begin working on Hiccup's arm. They could hear the crack and pop of Hiccup's arm being adjusted as he shut the door behind them, and the shrieks in pain as he pulled the door shut behind them.

"Noooooo!" Astrid screamed loudly, and she crumbled at the top of the stair way. Eret caught her as she did. He pulled her close, and allowed her to sob uncontrollably into his shoulder for however long she needed to.

Valka sat quietly with Eret at the dining room table, both nursing a cup of what was warm tea. It had cooled. It was now the middle of the night, and the rain had returned. They sat in silence. Not only were they taking care of Hiccup's physical state, but also Astrid's. After they had set his arm and she had stopped crying, she seemed to have disconnected herself from them all.

The truth was, she was horribly upset with both Valka and Eret. Hiccup was moaning in his sleep a little less, probably because since they had reset his arm, correctly this time. That was what made her most upset with Valka.

She was being stubborn with Eret. He had purposely dragged her away from her husband while he was being treated. It bothered her because she wasn't there with him when they snapped his shoulder back into place. She felt the need to be there with him.

Astrid was being stubborn with both of them, and she knew it, but did not want to admit it. She wanted Hiccup to be better. Gothi had told her on her way out he would not be better over the course of a few hours. She had pulled some herbs from her pocket and handed them to Astrid, telling her they would help her sleep. Valka had given her some hot tea earlier, and Astrid knew that she was trying to help Astrid sleep. Instead of drinking the tea, she dumped it out of the window.

Hiccup continued to shake. He moaned suddenly, the first noise he had made in over an hour. When he did, Toothless could hear his name. Astrid heard it as well.

"Too—less," he said again, before a small cough escaped his mouth.

Astrid reached for the cold broth they had been feeding Hiccup. It had some extra herbs in it from Gothi. It seemed to be helping him rest a little easier as well.

He choked on the third swallow, and Astrid stopped. She willed a few tears away, and sighed.

Toothless laid his head on the bed beside Hiccup. A moment later, Astrid saw him nosing his way under Hiccup's blankets. He rested his chin gently over Hiccup's legs. Astrid giggled slightly at the extra lump under the covers.

She seemed to have dazed off for a little while. A crack of lightning stirred her back to reality. She looked back at Hiccup, and realized he wasn't shaking as badly as he had been a few moments prior.

"Hmmmm," she sighed. She freshened the cloth up again, and rubbed it along Hiccup's face once again.

Hiccup coughed a few moments later, and in turn Toothless came out from under the covers. He growled lowly, then left the bed, going to his slab of stone. Astrid could tell he was equally frustrated and worried.

She laid down beside him, feeling his body slowly begin to shake after moments passed. Her mind began to wonder.

"Toothless…."

He came over when called, and she directed him again to lay against Hiccup for a few moments. The dragon simply nuzzled against Hiccup's legs again. He cooed as well when Astrid rubbed his face gently. They could see the concern in each other's eyes.

A few moments later, Hiccup's shaking subsided again.

"Toothless, help me get him moved…"

Valka jumped when a hand touched her shoulder. She had fallen asleep.

"I'm sorry to wake you, Valka," Eret said quietly to her.

"It's okay, I need to go check on my son," she said gently. When she looked around herself, she realized she had actually slept a solid few hours at the kitchen table. The sun was beginning to come up. She felt slightly panicked, and jumped up from her chair. Eret stopped her.

"Easy," he said. "Walk upstairs, quietly. Don't be alarmed, okay?"

Valka gave him a stern look, and took to the stairs. But did as Eret had told her. She approached the doorway, and found Hiccup not in his bed. A wave of fear hit her, but once she looked around the room, she relaxed.

Toothless laid curled up in himself, with both Hiccup and Astrid curled in between, resting against his body asleep under some furs.

"Astrid must have moved him while we were asleep at the table," Eret said.

"But, why would she do that?" Valka asked quietly.

Eret guided her over to where they laid. Toothless lifted his head when he heard them approach, but he relaxed and put his head back down, cooing gently. Valka's hand touched Hiccup's forehead.

"His fever—it's—"

"Breaking," Eret said. "For now, at least. He's also not chilled."

"Toothless's body heat—" Valka said quietly. "That makes sense."

"Toothless's body heat must have kept Hiccup stable while they were inside the boat," Eret said.

Valka smiled slightly and sighed. "Well, as long as they are resting comfortably, that's what matters."

Eret agreed with her. For the first time since Hiccup had arrived home, Eret felt peace in the Haddock home. He knew the next few days were still critical, but it was at least a start on the right path for them.

"Valka—I am going to go home for a little while. Would you be okay while I am away? I need to go check on Skullcrusher. I am honestly surprised he hasn't started knocking down homes looking for me."

"I had Gobber go check on him for you earlier," Valka said. She smile. "Thank you, Eret. Without you, I don't think Astrid or I would have survived under this roof together while Hiccup has been ill."

Eret gave a small chuckle. "I have a feeling you might be right about that one."


	6. Chapter 6

**Okay, everyone….Here is where the story is going to start getting interesting. You are going to see some explanations as to how Hiccup ended up the way he did.**

 **One reviewer said that it was not necessary to describe what happened to him during his attack. I would argue it would because of a future chapter that has been planned. Everything pieces together eventually. I should have apologized in advance for the fight scene. I know not everyone likes blood. Keep in mind this is my first time posting anything up. I am learning the dos and don't of Fanfiction**

 **Also, guys, consider who "the stone" is in this story. It is Astrid. She IS falling apart because of Hiccup's considion.**

 **And again, I chose Eret to be the one that Astrid choses to help because how I see him as being more of a private person to keep the village at piece.**

"Stop it!" Leave him alone!" Hiccup yelled from the chair of which he was restrained to. He tried to pull himself away, but the pain sheared up his shoulder. He began to see stars in front of his eyes, so he stopped, not wanting to pass out again.

"Or what, Hiccup?" Dagur. In his hand he was holding an iron poker. He shoved it into the fire for a moment, then turned to Toothless. "I bet you would love to kill me right here, right now, wouldn't you Hiccup?"

Hiccup glared at the Berzerker hard. If only he could escape his chair. Hiccup knew it would be a hard fight, and he would probably lose again. But, it would help release his anger.

He knew Dagur was right. Without Tootless he was a weak man. If Toothless had been free, they would have been on their way home long beforehand. He needed to get Toothless free, and get home. The question was, how, considering the saddle gears were broken.

"I don't think you have it in you to kill me, anyways," Dagur said, grunting. "Some chief you are." He turned and walked away from Hiccup, and started tossing the poker around the goal again for a little while. Other than the crackling of the fire, no other noises were heard.

As Dagur closed in near Toothless's leg with the hot pole again, Toothless tail whipped around and pushed Dagur into a wall filled with welding equipment. A bucket of water fell to the floor.

"Stupid dragon!" Dagur screamed as he stood back up. He sighed. He then turned his attention over to Hiccup. "Well, threatening your dragon doesn't seem to intimidate you any." He smiled evilly.

The neck lining in Hiccup's shirt was beginning to soak from the blood from his head wound from the earlier struggle. Dagur had never had Hiccup so vulnerable. He felt empowered! Usually Hiccup's gang wasn't too far behind, helping Hiccup dodge his attacks. There was nothing around them to stop him.

"So, Hiccup, have you changed your mind yet on that saddle?" I mean, it's not going to be a whole lot of work. In fact, if you fix it, I'll let you go. I'll let you take a boat home. Heck, you might get lucky and find a Skulldren to help you out to sea." He laughed at his own amusement.

We have been through this, Dagur," Hiccup said. "If I make you that saddle to ride Toothless, he won't let you ride him. "I don't understand why I have to keep repeating myself over and over again to you."

"He will let me ride him, Hiccup," Dagur said, waving his poker around again. "Especially if you are out of the picture!" He dropped the poker and reached for a different hot iron. This one was shaped like a small circle, about two inches in radius. "Untie him, now!"

Fear hit Hiccup. He was approached by another Berzerker, who began to untie his binds. The man stopped, and turned to another man who was in the shadows.

"Why aren't you helping me?" he said.

After a moment's pause, both the men were untying him. Dagur then grabbed what was left of Hiccup's shirt and threw him against the same wall he had before. He felt his head connect again, immediately starting a splitting headache. He fell to the ground again, and was barely able to keep conscious.

"I might not be able to kill you—yet, Hiccup. I need that saddle. But, I can sure do my best to convince you to get the job done sooner—"

Suddenly, he felt the neck of the back of his shirt choke him before he felt the shirt rip. Then, something hot pressed against his left lower hip, making him scream.

Astrid heard Hiccup screaming violently upstairs from the kitchen. She had just finished her little bit of lunch before she heard the violent yell.

"Hiccup!" she yelled, rushing up the stairs to their bedroom.

His fever had been very low-grade over the last several hours. He had been moved back to their bed, and after his chills had still been non-existent, she and Valka had felt comfortable enough to leave him alone to have some lunch.

Astrid found him in their bed thrashing. When she sat down beside him, he had rolled over into her, thrashing violently under his blankets.

"Hiccup—Hiccup, wake up!" Astrid pleaded with him.

"Get it off!" he cried. "Toothless—"

Toothless had approached the bed. Astrid could see that the dragon was more alarmed than he had been since they had arrived home. Something wasn't right. Toothless knew something was very wrong.

"Hiccup—" Valka had sat down on the other side of him.

It wasn't a moment later, Hiccup darted up out of bed so quickly, he leaned forward, pushed Astrid away from him. She fell sideways off the bed, and he lost his balance and fell on top of her.

When Astrid sat up, quickly getting over the initial shock, she pulled Hiccup to her, hugging him tightly. She whispered in his ear gently. "I'm here—Nothing is going to hurt you." He thrashed again. "Easy, easy. You are home, Hiccup."

She reached her hand to the back of his neck, and started turning a lock of his hair around in her fingers, and suddenly he stopped thrashing against her hold. Instead, he was sobbing.

"Easy," Astrid said to him quietly. She began rubbing is back gently. After a few moments, he pulled away from her. Leaning back, he found support on the back of the bed. Astrid put her forearm in front of him to try to stabilize him so he didn't topple and lose balance. She looked at him, and he was looking at her. Really looking at her. His eyes were bloodshot, tears were streaming down his face. But, they had made eye contact.

"A-Astrid," he said quietly.

She nodded and smiled weakly at him. Finally, he was conscious. She reached her hand up to his face; he had an alarmed expression. She paused a moment, and held her hand out to him, just as he did with a dragon he was attempting to train. She closed her eyes and let out the deep breath she had been holding. She reached out and touched his cheek gently.

His body relaxed with her gesture, and he opened his eyes and looked at her again.

"Astrid," he said, relief showing in his voice. She really was in front of him. He had made it home.

She leaned forward and placed her head against his forehead. He was sweaty. She hoped this meant his fever was breaking more. He still didn't feel near as warm as he had hours ago.

"It hurts," he said quietly.

"I know. Let's get you back into bed. You'll feel better."

As Astrid helped him back into bed, that was when she noticed the scab on his hip. It was perfectly round. She touched it gently, and Hiccup winced when she did.

"Hiccup—"

"That's—that's—" Hiccup was shaking, but his thoughts were collecting. He knew that was where Dagur had caused the pain, the worst pain over the dislocated shoulder. He suddenly felt the need to not alarm Astrid. "It's okay."

"Hiccup—"

"O—Okay," he breathed, shaking his head at her. He wanted her to drop the subject. "I'm okay."

Astrid turned to Valka, who had stood at the end of the bed, observing. "What does this look like to you, Mom?"

"No—Astrid—" Hiccup became a little alarmed. He didn't want the extra attention on himself.

"Stop it," she told him sternly, and took his hand, squeezing it tightly.

Valka looked at the scab. She hadn't thought anything of it earlier. But after looking at it again, she knew what had caused it. Her heart ached realizing someone had been personally torturing her son.

"It isn't infected," she said to Astrid. She could sense Hiccup's worry. "We won't worry about it right now."

Hiccup leaned back into his pillows and took in some deep breaths, letting them escape. His mind became conscious of how congested and sore he felt. He was trying to stay calm. He also did not want to worry Astrid or his mother more than he already had.

Valka moved closer to Hiccup, pulling the blankets up over him. She rubbed his face with her hand, and he leaned into her touch gently.

"Hiccup, can you tell us what happened?" Valka asked him.

He looked at her for a moment, trying to process what she had just asked of him. He turned away, immediately looking for Toothless. He saw him, and reached his hand out to his dragon's snout. He rubbed it gently, and listened to Toothless coo at him.

"How—how did we get back?" Hiccup asked.

"What do you mean?" Valka asked.

"How—did we get back home? We couldn't have—no—we couldn't have flown back here."

"You didn't," Astrid said. Hiccup's confused expression in regards to his thoughts was almost as hard as watching him lay unconscious. "You both were in a sail boat."

"What do you remember?" Valka asked him.

Hiccup leaned back against his pillows and closed his eyes. For a moment, they thought he had fallen asleep, until he spoke. "We were shot down by a net. Ambushed on Outcast Island. I—we fell. I woke up—" He paused. "Toothless's tail was broken—"

"What else?" Valka asked him.

Hiccup turned and looked at her. His mouth was slightly opened. His brain felt slow. But, he was able to think. He closed his eyes, and remembered bits and pieces. He had woken up after the hot iron had pressed against his back. He wasn't able to move. Someone was standing over him, arguing.

"Once he wake up, he had better fix the saddle."

"Dagur, this is not going to make him work for you any faster. If the man doesn't want to fix the saddle, then you need to come up with another way," said a second voice.

"Oh, he will. I'll get that dragon, and then I will have Berke!"

Hiccup felt something cold press against his hip. He had winced, then blacked out.

"He—he's after Toothless. And the island," Hiccup said.

"Who—"

"Dagur, Astrid—" He sighed. "I wish he would just give up by now."

Astrid noticed he was shaking again, and pulled the blanket up to his neck. She turned to Valka, who sat with her hand to her chin, lost in thought.

"Hiccup," Valka said after a moment. "Do you remember how you escaped?"

The chief shook his head slightly. "I don't—I don't remember much from being in the tunnels on Outcast Island to here."

The trio sat in silence for a few moments. The only noises that could be heard were the crackling of the fire and Hiccup's slight labored breathing. He had fallen asleep again.

Eret came through the door right as dawn was approaching. He let himself inside, and leaned back against the door, gently closing it behind him. Valka was sitting at the kitchen table, nursing a cup of tea in her hands.

He looked at her for a moment. The dark circles under her eyes had gotten darker since he had been over yesterday evening. It appeared as though she didn't get any sleep at all.

The distance yells upstairs told him why. Valka winced when they started, and went to get up and head upstairs. But, a few seconds later they calmed, and she sat back down at the table again. Her hands ended up on her temples. Her head was throbbing due to lack of sleep and stress.

"Are things not getting any better?" Eret asked her, as he took a seat across from her at the table.

"He's coherent, I think. He still has a lingering fever. The nightmares are beginning to keep him awake."

"Nightmares?"

"From what we can gather is that Dagur escaped his prison on Outcast Island, took it over, and took Hiccup and Toothless prisoner. That's why he didn't come home."

Hiccup screamed again suddenly. Eret assumed Astrid was upstairs with him, trying to calm him down.

"May I?" Eret asked Valka.

She nodded, and the two parted and headed up the stairs together.

Eret entered the room first. From the shadows of the fire he could see Hiccup sitting up on the edge of the bed, wrapped in a blanket. His knees were drawn to his chest, and his head was down. Astrid was rubbing the back of his neck gently with a cool rag, trying to help draw out his lingering fever. Eret could see that she was also exhausted. Toothless was lying on his stone slab. He must have known Astrid would be there for him so Toothless wasn't hovering.

Hiccup wasn't making eye contact with anyone, he seemed to be studying a particular nail in the floor boards. Keeping is eyes focused, keeping his mind centered on a particular spot. Coping technique Eret had used himself during times of great stress.

Eret crouched down in front of Hiccup, doing his best to make eye contact with him, but Hiccup barely moved his eyes, continuing his blank stare.

"Hey, mate," Eret said to him quietly. Eret felt as though he might have been talking to a child. He had not seen Hiccup so vulnerable, even when his father passed away.

Hiccup closed his eyes after a moment, and a small smile escaped him. "How are you, Eret."

"Afraid I am doing better than you are…lad," he said. He reached up and touched Hiccup's forehead. His gentle gaze became slightly serious. "Where's that broth at?" he asked.

Astrid reached over to the table and handed a small bowl to Eret. He sipped a little bit of it himself, tasting the horrid stuff Gothi had concocted up, trying not to show how horrid it actually was. It was missing something.

"Valka, add some additional peppermint to his broth. I don't think Gothi put enough into it."

"That'll keep him even more alert, though," Astrid said. "He needs—"

"If we can break his fever, I think he will get better rest. Would you rather nurse a fever the rest of the day, or part of the day? The sooner we break this, I think he will get some sleep."

"I trust your judgment, Eret," Valka said to him, and turned to go down the stairs to get the broth ready.

Suddenly, Hiccup gave a loud cry and jolted. Eret had just realized he had fallen asleep for a moment. Astrid wrapped her arms around him, whispering in his ear.

"I know you are exhausted, Hiccup."

"I—I don't want to—sleep—"

"You do, just not with these nightmares," Eret said gently. He reached for the cloth in Astrid's hand, dipped it in the bucket of water beside the bed. He rang it out, then laid it directly on the back to Hiccup's neck. "Take in some deep breaths, and relax, okay mate?"

Hiccup nodded.

Shortly after Valka returned with the broth, she made Hiccup drink a whole half cup of it, even though he fought her. He gagged a little bit on the broth, but was able to swallow it.

"Now, we wait and see," Eret said quietly. He felt a gentle push on his side, and he turned and met eye to eye with Toothless. He could tell the dragon was telling him "thank you." He gave Toothless a gentle nod.

An hour later, Hiccup's fever began to break again. He finally leaned back against Astrid and fell asleep in her arms. Both were thankful for another few hours of uninterrupted sleep.


	7. Chapter 7

**I apologize in advance for how boring this chapter is. I was just proof reading and thought it to be very boring.**

Hiccup woke up in the middle of the night, a cold sweat laid on his brow. The only light in the room came from the hearth of the fire place. He took in a deep breath, feeling the dull pain in his rib cage, and let it out. He couldn't wait for that pain to go away.

He turned his head to his left, wincing at the slight headache he had, and saw Astrid was under the covers with her back turned to him. She was resting, and he hoped peacefully.

He needed to get out of bed. No, he wanted to get out of bed. He felt foolish for allowing himself to get this way. His father wouldn't have gotten himself so beat up, nor would he have been held up as long as he had been.

The question that was still remaining on his mind: How had they escaped? He couldn't remember. Or, his brain was forcing him not to remember. Too much traumatic stress, between the physical beatings, the yelling, and the stress of trying to get back home on a broken tail. Somehow he had managed to block out a lot of the events.

What he did know, was that he had been captured, he and Toothless had escaped, but he still didn't know how. Those thoughts weren't coming to him. Shaking his head, he decided that didn't matter yet. What did matter, was that he get himself something to eat for his raging stomach.

Pushing himself up with his good arm, he took a gentle note of the bad. He groaned, and tried to shake his head of the horrible memory of how he received that injury. The slightest movements made him feel very weak. Lack of food is what he chalked that up to be.

He threw his leg over the side of the bed, followed by his other. Oh, crap. The prosthetic was gone. He forgot the foot of it had snapped off with the saddle. He sighed. Again, taking into account that he was very weak from lack of food, still naked and the fact that his prosthetic was gone, he turned to look at Astrid. He debated on waking her up.

With his stomach angrily telling him it was far past time to eat, he couldn't wait for Astrid to get up. Food was a must at this point.

Allowing himself to sit up against his pillows, reached his hand over to her shoulder, and gently touched it. She darted up almost instantly. The worry on her face, the exhaustion that shown nearly killed him. He felt guilty instantly for waking her up.

"Morning," she said quietly, once she had calmed down a little bit. "You look awake."

He nodded. He gave her a weak smile.

She scooted closer to him and touched his forehead, feeling the cold sweat. He saw a look of relief come across her face. "Your fever feels like it finally broke." Her voice sounded relieved as well.

"Yes, but I am terribly hungry," he said quietly. His voice still felt weak. Just then his stomach growled, and it was loud.

Astrid smiled, giving a small chuckle. "I'll get you something light to eat. How about some toast?"

A few hours following, Hiccup had found some energy to try to stand on his own. His mother was having a complete fit over it.

"You really should stay in bed a little longer," she said to him. Instead of pushing him back to bed like she had intended, he instead decided to use her as a crutch. He reached for her shoulder and hobbled over towards his work bench. When she didn't follow, he used Toothless, who was excited he was up and moving, to finalize his way over to his chair. Once he made it over, he looked at her with a satisfied grin.

"What am I ever going to do with you?" she asked herself. She then pulled him closer to his bed by the back of his chair, while he protested. "You can stay in your chair—flip yourself around—there. I am going to look over some of these bruises and change some of your bandaging—"

"Really?" he groaned. He decided to make himself comfortable. He put his good arm over the back of the chair, and then rested his chin on top. He felt his mother peeling away some bandages from his back, looking over some cuts and bruises.

He was mildly embarrassed still. At least his father wasn't there to mend all of the mess up. That he was relieved for, just ever so slightly.

"Where's Astrid at?" Hiccup asked his mother.

"Never you mind," she said quietly. "Let's just get this scab cleaned up a little bit."

Hiccup sighed. He felt panic run through his body very briefly over the mentioning of the burn. He had to take a breath and remind himself that he would only get better from this point on. It would just take some time. Letting out a sigh, his rib ached again. "This is getting old."

Astrid was vomiting in a basin downstairs. Her anxiety and worry had finally gotten the best of her physically. Her stomach twisted again, and she expelled her stomach acid into the basin again. She hoped she wasn't going to start dry heaving. She knew when she was done she needed to eat something. She couldn't remember the last thing she had to eat, honestly.

A knock came at the door.

"Why—Why!" she yelled violently. "It's barely dawn!"

Just as she was wiping the vomit from her mouth with the back of her hand, Snotlout and Fishlegs came in.

"What happened to you?" asked Snotlout. "Did you two lovebirds get into a fight or something?"

Astrid was ready to deck him. She knew he was referring to the dark circles under her eyes. She was in need to a decent night's sleep.

"I wish," she said to Snotlout. "Can't you doe-does even let someone let you into the house?"

"You were taking too long," Snotlout said obnoxiously.

Fishlegs was actually just tiptoeing inside the house, shutting the door behind himself.

Astrid poured herself some fresh water and took a small drink from the cup. She wished they had held off coming over for at least another five minutes. Enough time to collect herself, and to not barge in and interrupt Hiccup—Oh, no, Hiccup!

"What do you guys need?" she asked, getting up.

"Where have you been at?" Snotlout asked. "You haven't been out."

"Didn't Gobber already tell you that I was ill?" she asked. "I mean, I just got done vomiting into a bucket."

"We heard a rumor that Hiccup's home," said Fishlegs.

Astrid choked on her water. "WHO TOLD YOU THAT?"

Fishlegs cowered slightly. "Eret."

"When did he tell you that?"

Fishlegs hid behind his hands as Astrid earnestly got into his face over the mentioning of Eret.

"In the Great Hall….A-At breakfast."

Well, he lied to you!" she said. "Why—why would someone—"

"Astrid—" His voice came gently.

Snotlout, Fishlegs and Astrid turned to look up at the loft. Hiccup was leaning against the banister with his mother's support. Even fifteen feet above them, both Fishlegs and Snotlout could see Hiccup was physically impaired.

"Come on up, guys," he said quietly. "We have a lot of talking to do."

Hiccup settled himself back into his chair. Astrid took a seat on the bed, and as Valka walked out of the room, she grabbed half of the loaf of bread that Hiccup hadn't finished, handed it to Astrid and mouthed "Eat." She then turned and walked down the stairs leaving the group to chat.

"Hiccup—what happened to you?" Fishlegs began.

"Well—"

"What kind of dragon made these?" Snotlout cried, pointing to the bruising and gashed on Hiccup's shoulder.

"I bet it was a Terrible Terror!" cried Fishlegs.

"No—it wasn't, guys, it was—"

"A Typhomerange!" cried Snotlout.

"No, guys—"

"A Skulldron couldn't have done this," said Fishlegs, looking at the mark on Hiccup's hip.

"It wasn't a dragon," Hiccup said, a little more loudly. He was suddenly getting more of his voice back.

"I bet one of those creepy crawlers finally got their nails into you, didn't they, Hiccup?" cried Snotlout. "I knew you would find one you couldn't work with."

"No, Snotlout—"

Both Snotlout and Fishlegs were making Astrid and Hiccup rather dizzy. Astrid finally had enough.

"Would you two muttin-heads just shut up!" Astrid said.

Snotlout and Fishlegs seemed taken aback.

Valka had entered the room, holding two mugs of warm Yak's milk in her hands. She gently handed them both to Hiccup and Astrid. She sighed heavily.

"It was Dagur," Valka said quietly.

"Dagur?!" cried Fishlegs.

"Yes," Hiccup said after he blew a little bit on his warm milk. He was hoping he could swallow this down a little easier. The bread he had eaten earlier wasn't going down his still raw throat too well. "Thanks, Mom." She was leaving the room again. He received a courtesy nod before she disappeared back down to the kitchens.

"So, what happened?" Snotlout asked quietly. He had decided to take a seat on the floor, and so did Fishlegs. Astrid had taken a seat on the bed, sitting with her legs tucked into herself.

"He escaped somehow," Hiccup said. He spaced out a little bit. "Astrid—how long have I been home?"

Astrid let out a sigh. "About four days." Silence filled the room. Hiccup seemed surprised he was home that long. "When we had that awful storm."

"What?!" cried Snotlout. "He's been home that long and we were just told today?!"

Astrid nodded. "We didn't want to alarm the village. Only people who knew were Gothi, Eret, and Gobber."

"Eret knew that whole time!" cried Snotlout. "Why?"

"Don't you worry about it," Astrid said to him coldly. She did feel guilty about not letting their friends know Hiccup was back. Especially now, seeing the looks on their faces.

Snotlout went to say something else, but Toothless had come up from his slab and shoved his own snout into Snotlout's, giving him a look that stopped him from speaking again.

"Guys, we need to keep everyone out on patrol, especially at night," he said. "No one is to come within 2 miles of the island. Not even Trader Yohann. I want all ships inspected coming to the island prior to arrival. No one gets in without my approval."

"You are serious," said Fishlegs, surprised at Hiccup's extra measures to protect the island.

"I am," Hiccup said to him. "He has escaped his prison. He's madder than ever. Make sure any of the ships that need to go out for fish are protected. Help them if you have to. I don't want anyone on this island to get hurt." He took a small sip of his milk and sighed. "Judging by the damage he's done to me, I don't want anyone alone with him on this island."

"What else?" asked Snotlout.

"We will sit low," Hiccup said. "For all I know is that Dagur probably thinks I died out at sea. May even think Toothless did as well. He knows we didn't fly away; not with the saddle in pieces like it was."

"Even if the saddle hadn't been in pieces, do you think you would have been able to fly Toothless back?" Astrid asked. "You were pretty out of it."

Hiccup shrugged his good shoulder. "I can't really say. I could have, I would have gotten father sooner than in that boat."

"Wait—you came back in a boat?" asked Fishlegs.

Hiccup nodded.

"How many men do you think he has?" asked Astrid.

"I'm more concerned about how many dragons he has," said Fishlegs. "If he took over the island it's possible—"

"I wasn't able to go investigate and find out, Fishlegs." Hiccup reached over the touched Toothless's head. "I don't really know what to expect. I wasn't able to freely move around the place before we were shot down. We were taken completely by surprise. Nothing looked—abnormal until we had a net to knock us down."

Images were creeping into his mind, beginning to engulf him. The iron rod, the beating he had taken previously…and then the face of a man with a scar on his face—

He felt a hand on his back, knocking the images away. It was Astrid bringing him back to reality. His arms had goosebumps on them, and the hair on the back of his neck was standing up.

"Tell the Twins and the A Team to look after the boat and protect the island. Fishlegs, I expect you to form some type of schedule. No one is to go past the sea stacks—just us and the A Team."

Fishlegs nodded. "I'll get right to work."

Astrid went to head out with Fishlegs and Snotlout to help them, but Hiccup grabbed her hand and pulled her back towards him with the slightest effort.

"Where do you think you are off to?" he asked her.

"They need help—"

"They will be fine, Astrid," he said.

"The more people out on patrol the better," Astrid said. "If Dagur—"

Hiccup put his hand up to hush her. She stopped when she saw tears gathering up in his eyes. He was seriously looking at her. Finally, he spoke to her.

"You are exhausted, Astrid. You look tired, and I know you haven't been eating. So, do this for me. Stay home at least for today, and rest. I know you want to get out there and help. But, do me this favor and rest yourself. Then, if you feel up to it, go out tomorrow, okay?"

She sighed and nodded. "Okay." She stood up and gave him a squeeze from where he sat. He wrapped his good arm around her waist and leaned against her stomach with his head just slightly.

"Do me a favor, would you?" she asked him.

"What's that, milady?" he asked.

"Don't leave Berke without back up again, okay?"

He took a deep breath and sighed. She was right. He should have had someone there with him when it was all said and done. But, he thought it would be safe. He was glad she hadn't been there. With both of them at Outcast Island, they both would have been in some trouble together.

"I won't," he said to her.


	8. Chapter 8

**This is where the story begins to become somewhat more informational. I like this chapter a lot. We start to see our new character I developed come into place. As I had said previously, I am starting to get a little writer's block, and have been working on this idea for about two years. I am approaching the ending to what I have so far. I hope I can get more going once I run out of my chapters I already have.**

 **Thanks, guys!**

Hiccup sat at his desk doodling, having a slightly more difficult time with a sore shoulder. It was nighttime again, and into the early morning hours he was finding himself having a difficult time sleeping. Instead, he was trying to reconstruct his peg leg. He had lost his blueprints, so he was having to start over from scratch. He was hoping to make this one even better than the previous one.

Sleep wasn't coming easily. Throughout the day he had found himself taking cat naps, but he was not being woken up by his mother or Astrid. He was coping with his dreams on his own. The one that was playing his mind over and over again was when Dagur had placed the hot iron on his hip.

Hiccup shuttered at the thought again. The pain had knocked him clean out. He had remembered waking up to a guard adjusting his ropes…the man with the scar on his face.

"What?" Hiccup's voice had said aloud to the man. Hiccups realized the guard had a knife in his hand. Hiccup remembered the panic going through him when he saw the knife, and he was trying to get away from him without obtaining another injury.

"Easy," the guard said to him quietly. "I am trying to loosen these up for you." The guard finished adjusting them. They were very loose around his wrists, giving him feeling back into his hands and leaving less pull on his injured shoulder.

"Wh—why are you helping me?" Hiccup had asked, his voice very weak. He was grateful for the ease on his shoulder.

"Dagur has been insane for quite some time," was the man's reply. "If I don't help you, you will continue to whimper in your sleep. And if Dagur hears you he will just come in and hurt you worse."

The guard made one last knot a moment later. But Hiccup could tell he could move better if he needed to.

"Do not tell Dagur I helped you," he said quietly, and he disappeared back into the shadows.

Hiccup was pulled from his dream-like state when he heard Astrid move in bed. He saw her disappear down the stairs. He sighed, reached for his crutch, and went down after her.

He held onto the banister for extra support. He wasn't used to walking with a crutch. As he was more than halfway down, he saw Astrid sitting at the table, puking into a basin at the kitchen table.

Managing to get to her side rather quickly, he reached out and touched her shoulder, startling her.

When she was able to breathe, she turned and looked at him. "What are you doing up?" she asked him.

"I should be asking you the same question, but I see."

"I don't know what's wrong with me," she said, taking a seat at the table.

"I think your nerves are shot," Hiccup said to her, taking a seat beside her. "I didn't help that."

"You and I both know I don't get nervous too easily," Astrid reminded him.

"Yes, Astrid, you don't," Hiccup said. "But, you've also never seen me like this."

She chuckled slightly. "Actually, I have. When you lost part of your leg."

He laughed slightly. "Was I this bad, though?" he asked her.

She shook her head. "No. You didn't have horrible nightmares. You just kind of moaned in your sleep from the pain."

He nodded. He barely remembered any of that. He was surprised he could remember some details now. But, maybe it was because the events of that incident didn't happen over a course of weeks, rather hours instead.

After a few moments, Astrid reached for the bread on the table, unwrapped it and sighed. "I'm tired of milk and stale bread," she said. "How about I make us some eggs and toast?"

"I think I might be able to stomach that," he said. "Question is, what about you?"

She nodded. "I think so."

Hiccup had started shaking after day four of dealing with his burns, cuts and broken bones. His cuts were starting to become infected by this point. He was thankful that Dagur had not noticed his ropes were still very lose on him. Dagur had left him alone, barely speaking to him, and barely acknowledging he was even around. Dagur had also not offered him any food, just some water was given to him from the guard.

Finally, on the fourth day, the same guard had left very briefly to go eat dinner. Another guard stood in place. He didn't pay any attention to Hiccup. He just sat at his seat, staying very briefly, and leaving when the man knocked on the door to come back inside to sit.

After a few moments, the man fully untied Hiccup's ropes, and half carried him to a wall, where he gently helped him lean against it. He then pushed a roll into Hiccup's hand.

"Eat," he said quietly. Hiccup noted he had a strong chin, and the scar was just below his right eye, almost like a dragon claw infliction. Hiccup couldn't comprehend anymore details before the man slipped away from his view.

Slowly, Hiccup mustered up some energy to lift the roll to his mouth and take a small bite. Because he had not eaten for several days, he felt nauseated, dizzy and weak. His energy was almost gone. He had to tell himself when to move his jaw up and down to chew. He felt pathetic.

Toothless still hung upside down in his cell close by. Hiccup turned his head to look at him, and to show him he was eating something. He felt that Toothless was relaxing because of it. He knew the dragon could sense his uneasiness and discomfort.

The guard came back and pushed a warm mug of cider into Hiccup's hands. "I know this is hard right now, but you need to eat fast." He helped Hiccup take a drink of the warm amber liquid when he realized Hiccup was still too weak. He then took the roll and pulled it into smaller pieces to help Hiccup eat.

"The sugar in that cider should help you," the man said.

"What's your name?" Hiccup asked him quietly.

The man turned around him to make sure no one was approaching the door. He then turned back to Hiccup. "Cecil."

Cecil offered Hiccup another bite of the roll, which Hiccup accepted.

"Thank you, Cecil," Hiccup whispered.

Cecil nodded at Hiccup, then began inspecting the cut on Hiccup's forehead. He left Hiccup alone with some pieces of roll to feed himself, and went over to a basin full of water, wetted down a handkerchief he had taken out of his pocket. He rang it out, and came back to Hiccup's position on the floor. He gently began to clean some of the dry blood off of Hiccup's face.

"This cut will scar," he said quietly. "Get some of your energy up, and I'll dress some of these other wounds as best as I can."

Hiccup let out a small breath. "Can you tell me, Cecil, what does Dagur want?"

Cecil leaned back on his hunches and looked at Hiccup a moment. "The dragon. It's always the dragon."

"He has Toothless," Hiccup said quietly. "He—" Hiccup was overcome with a dizzy spell, and he leaned his head back against the wall and closed his eyes.

"You need to keep eating," Cecil said to him reassuringly. He then helped Hiccup get another drink. After a moment, he spoke again. "What Dagur is wanting is control. He's found a nest of dragons. Since he knows Toothless defeated an Alfa, and he has become one, he thinks Toothless will gain him access."

"Drago," Hiccup said.

Cecil nodded, and held the damp towel to Hiccup's forehead. He could tell then that a fever was developing. "A long time ago, I used to help Drago capture dragons. Eventually, I did escape from being under his thumb. I went into hiding, away from everyone. Somehow, I ended up here with Alvin, and now Dagur since he took over Outcast Island."

"You have been with Alvin?" Hiccup asked.

"Yes. I was stranded when pirates took over the small ship I was on. I hid in the floorboards while the ship was taken over, fearing fire would be set, but the fire never came. Instead, the voices died away, and all remained quiet, leaving me the lone survivor. I took a boat and left the ship. A few days later, Alvin passed my boat and brought me aboard. I had been very ill, but survived. I was with Alvin until Dagur broke free from jail. He tied Alvin up and placed him on a boat, and set him sail. He found it amusing."

Hiccup looked at Cecil questionably, which Cecil found amusing, and he only chuckled slightly at him.

"Don't worry. I am not bad. At least I don't think so. I do what I do to survive here until I can escape without being detected."

"Well, you have been kind to me," Hiccup said. "Perhaps one day I can return the favor to you."

"Perhaps," Cecil said. His voice was eerie calm. "In the mean-time, if you think you can keep yourself quiet, I'd like to clean that burn on your hip."

Hiccup shook his head, alarm flowing through him. "Please don't."

Cecil nodded, then turned to look at the door again. Surprisingly, to both of them, it was quiet outside.

"Has Dagur reached Berke?" Hiccup asked Cecil.

"No," he said gently, rubbing his fingers over Hiccup's forehead. He was feeling the fever. Concern showed on his face, but that was all. "Your village is safe, don't worry." Cecil found another subject to discuss. "I see your wedding band. Have you been married long?"

"Just under a year," Hiccup replied. He reached a hand out for the cup of cider Cecil held. Cecil allowed him to hold the cup, and put it up to his lips. He shook, but he managed to take a drink without spilling anything. "I am sure she is worried about me."

Suddenly, they heard Dagurr's voice closing in. Cecil threw the roll and the mug across the room, grabbed Hiccup and tossed him over to where he had laid prior, jarring his shoulder. Hiccup winced in pain, almost screaming.

Hiccup heard the door open.

"That'll teach you to steal from us!" Cecil screamed, and Hiccup suddenly felt the rope tie around him again. They still remained loose on him, but his shoulder was still screaming in pain from the fall.

"Did he break free?" Dagur asked Cecil calmly.

"Barely," said Cecil.

Toothless's chains were making noise. Hiccup knew he was struggling to get out of his binds to get to him, but it was no use.

Dagur reached down and grabbed Hiccup by his chin, and forced him to look directly at him. Hiccup's shoulder roared in pain. Dagur seemed pleased about that fact.

"Soon," he said quietly. He looked over at Toothless. Hiccup's energy was running low. But so was Toothless's. "A few more days, and I will have you BOTH broken!"

He dropped Hiccup to the ground again, and walked up to Cecil. "Make sure that he can't get away again. And Dagur departed.

Hiccup woke up suddenly to the sound of birds outside his bedroom windows. He glanced around, collected his surroundings. He realized Astrid was still asleep next to him. She hadn't woken back up, thankfully. She needed rest.

He pushed himself to sit up in bed, and threw his one good leg over the edge to sit up straight. It took him some time with a bad arm as well. He was being extra careful not to jar it too much. He grabbed his crutch, helped himself up, and began to depart down the stairs as quietly as he could. Toothless went to follow him, but he placed his hand up to him, indicating to him to stay. Toothless didn't need to baby him.

Alone in the kitchen, he made himself a cup of warm tea. He sat at the table and sipped it, thinking about Cecil. He knew Cecil played a role in helping Toothless and Hiccup escape from Dagur. Even though his thoughts were beginning to return back to him, he still did not know exactly all the details of how he and Toothless managed to get out.

Hiccup closed his eyes, thinking about the tunnels. They had to have been 30 feet below the top of the island. There should have been at least two or three levels of tunnels to get through before Cecil had helped them escape. How had they been able to escape without detection?

More importantly, what happened to Cecil?


	9. Chapter 9

**This is the final chapter I have as of right now. I hope to work more on it very soon!**

"Let me through!" yelled Dagur.

"This has gone on far enough!" Cecil yelled at Dagur. "You keep this up, you'll end up beating him to death!"

"What do you care for, Cecil?" asked Dagur.

"I don't believe fighting dirty wins the war you are starting," said Cecil. "Ragland is an excellent welder. May I please suggest that you console with him in regards to the saddle? As of right now, he is too weak to even lift an arrow."

Dagur sneered.

"All I ask, Dagur, is that you see what the outcome of your actions has done. You want him to rebuild a saddle, but he cannot, especially if he cannot walk or have use of an arm."

"He is useless if he isn't making my saddle—"

"He is useless NOW!" Cecil screamed at him.

Hiccup heard a scuffle, but it was over before it had really begun. Dagur couldn't overpower Cecil alone. Hiccup thought Cecil was a little head strong to be going at it with the current leader of Outcast Island. In a moment's notice an army could overpower Cecil.

"Dagur, I ask you to realize. He will die in a few days' time if you don't allow him to heal and to get his strength up. Keeping food and water from him will make matters worse. His arm—it needs a healer, which I am not. I cannot pop it back into place and know that it'll heal the way it needs to. And that burn—"

"Who is the best healer you know, and where can I find them, then?" asked Dagur.

"Sir, the best one that you will find is back on Berke. The boy's mother and Madam Gothi. They are the best ones that I know of that can heal the wounds on Mr. Haddock, here."

Suddenly, a cough escaped Hiccup's throat. He was trying to force himself from dropping out of consciousness. His chest was burning, his head and body ached. He tried to force himself to stop coughing. He felt like death. When he felt Cecil touch his cheek, then his forehead, did he allow his body to relax. For some reason, his new friend brought him some comfort in the terror. He had someone on his side.

"He is burning a pretty high fever," Cecil said after a moment of silence. "How you expect him to function in this is mad—"

"I am not CRAZY!" Dagur screamed. He was just inches above where Hiccup laid.

"I didn't say you were, sir." Cecil's calm voice relaxed Hiccup again, despite the screams from Dagur. "I think you are trying to rush the process along. Let him regain his strength. Keeping food and water from him is not breaking him. It's only going to kill him."

"You help him heal up then, Cecil. But, he WILL help Ragland fix the saddle and make it so that MY foot can control it. He can instruct him. How long do you think it will be?"

"Can you be patient enough for—five days?" Cecil asked him. "No less."

"Very well. Get whatever supplies you need from the infirmary—"

Hiccup heard the door shut. He felt Cecil untie his ropes again, this time removing them completely. He was lifted over to a cot, where Cecil placed warm wool over his body to warm him up.

"You need to rest, my friend," said Cecil.

"I'm—I'm not making that saddle—"

"I didn't expect you to," Cecil said to him calmly.

"I'm not helping—"said Hiccup, a coughing spell overpowered him for a moment. "You—you and Dagur are wasting your time. We are both going to die down here."

"I am not letting either of you die down here, Hiccup," Cecil said to him. He had stood up and walked over into the shadows and returned again with two buckets and some other supplies. He dipped a rag into a bucket that was filled with water, rang it out, and placed it over Hiccup's burning forehead. He then uncorked a bottle of brandy with his teeth, lifted Hiccup's head up and helped him take some small sips. "This will help you rest easier, my friend."

Hiccup choked on his last sip. He felt Cecil wipe his lips with another cloth. After a moment, he looked at Cecil, his vision going more blurry. "Why are you helping us?" Hiccup asked. "You are wasting your time on us. We both know we cannot escape this place."

"You are far from a waste of time, Hiccup. Any son of Stoick and Valka is a dear friend to me. I will not sit around and watch you die in the hands of Dagur. Now, sleep. I will be here if you need me."

Hiccup opened his eyes.

Cecil somehow knew his mother and his father. He also knew Gothi. The man wasn't young, but he wasn't very old either. Hiccup sat up and put his foot on the ground. He reached for his crutch that rested against the bedframe, and wobbled his way down the stairs, leaving Astrid in bed.

He was surprised to find his mother awake at the table with a cup of tea this late at night. He saw his mother's startled face when she heard him coming down the stairs. He felt instantly guilty for worrying her again.

"Hiccup—are you all right?" she asked him.

He nodded, putting his hand up to her, signaling he was okay. He realized here recently that he wasn't speaking quite so much. He had let himself be more reserved. "It is just a dream, that's all, Mom." He took a seat on the bench across from her and placed his crutch at the head of the table.

"More?" Valka asked him. She went to the cupboard and pulled out another mug.

"No yak's milk, please," he said to her. He was tired of the stuff.

"No, just some more of that broth Gothi had us make for your fever. You still look a little bit pale."

He knew until he was up riding dragons again and out of his sling his mother would be hovering over him. He did enjoy it just a little bit, simply because she wasn't there when he was a child. He often day-dreamed when he was a child what it was like having a mother to care for him. He enjoyed her unconditional kindness, but then again hated the fact that he was an adult now, and she was trying to take care of him.

Valka placed the mug down in front of him and took her seat across from him again. After a few moments, she said, "What's troubling you, son?"

He looked up at her, and he could see the concern that had already been in her eyes grow.

"It wasn't a bad dream, really," he said quietly. He played with his mug, watching the herbs in the broth swish around a little bit. "I mean—it wasn't a nightmare. It was—well, I guess you can say, informational."

Valka placed her chin on her knuckles. She watched Hiccup for a moment. She took a deep breath, and sighed. "What are you remembering?"

"Just pieces," he said gently, looking away from her eyes. He took a small sip of his broth, clicked his tongue on the roof of his mouth, now finally really tasting the nasty stuff. "Gothi needs to liven this up a little bit."

"We did," Valka said. "Eret suggested extra peppermint. It was the reason we finally broke that fever of yours in the end. But, the point is that you didn't vomit it everywhere." She reached for the bread basket and started slicing them each a piece. "Anyways, what you are you remembering?"

"There's a man that I keep seeing," he said. "I'm pretty sure he played an important role in getting Toothless and I off of the island. I wish I knew exactly how we were able to get out of the caves, into that boat and out to sea—"

"The important thing is that you both are here," Valka said, handing him the slice of bread. "I wish you weren't so troubled by all of this."

"What do you mean?"

"You need to continue to get better and put this in the past, son," Valka said. "You have a village to run, a wife to take care of…A life to continue to live—"

"You don't think I'm not trying to run the village?" Hiccup asked her. His tone was very low. Anger was brewing in his blood. He felt like he was getting the finger pointed at him. "As for Astrid, you and I are very much aware she can tell care of herself pretty well."

Valka eyed him for a moment. Hiccup could see she was slowly shaking her head in slight discuss.

"No, Hiccup, I am not insinuating that," Valka said, finally. Astrid is able to handle herself—most of the time." She sensed his insecurity of her previous words. "I just want you to move forward."

"Do you not realize how traumatic this was?" Hiccup moved his bad arm, a little too much, and he jarred it something fierce. He held back the reaction to the pain.

"I do, Hiccup, but I want you to get past these bad dreams, bad memories and look towards a good future," said Valka.

Hiccup let a moment of silence escape past them before he spoke again; a moment of silence and the angry feeling he was having towards his mother currently. The anger needed to subside. He didn't want to yell at her.

"The man was kind to us," Hiccup said again.

"That isn't like the Outcasts," said Valka. "I cannot tell you how many times they tried to shoot Cloudjumper and I down."

"He wasn't Alvin's originally," said Hiccup. "He knew you and dad. And he knew who Gothi was."

"Many people from distant lands knew your father. Gothi went along during raids and battles to help injured Vikings. Then, one day she told your father she had enough and would only heal those here on Berke."

"Were you apart of those voyages?" Hiccup asked her.

"A few," his mother replied to him. "Up until Gothi told me I was pregnant with you. After that I remained at home. I was only married to your father for a wee bit of time before I carried you."

Hiccup sighed. "He mentioned that he knew the three of you. He knew you and Gothi were healers—"

"I'm no expert like Gothi, Hiccup—"

"But, you can help pretty well," he said to her. "He's had to have been a part of Berke at one point in time. Eventually, he joined up with the Outcasts. He isn't an Outcasts. He came from somewhere else…"

After a few moments, Valka interrupted Hiccup's train of thought. "You sure you cannot remember getting in that boat?"

Hiccup nodded. He took a small piece of his bread in his hand, dipped it into his now cold broth, and placed it into his mouth. "So far I know Dagur beat me, he starved me. He kept water from me as well. He wanted the saddle reconstructed. The man convinced him to let me get better so that I could actually help reconstruct the gears. After that—it's all gone, really. I remember the rain, the boat rocking. I remember feeling very cold, and very sick. But, nothing else."

"I am sure your memories will keep coming back," Valka said. "But, dear, they shouldn't matter because you made it home, alive, and you are improving remarkably."

"They do matter, Mom. If I can remember, maybe I can figure out if Dagur is going to come or not. I am tired of sitting here just waiting. I have no plan. I need to protect this island from Dagur—"

"Easy there, son," Valka said, grabbing his arm, seeing the tension he was beginning to cause on himself.

"I know he's coming, Mom. One way or another, he is coming here. Just a matter of time. And I am not well, I am not ready—"

"Just calm down, Hiccup—"

"Cecil, Mom. Cecil was the man's name."

Hiccup watched his mother's eye twitch slightly. "I know of a couple of people with that name—"

"Cecil had a scar above his eye," said Hiccup. "It was large. It looked as though—"

"A dragon—a dragon clawed his face—" Valka said. She put her head down and sighed.

Hiccup was a little dumb struck. "You do know him."

Valka remained silent for a moment. She settled herself back down in her seat. Hiccup could tell she was trying to find the words to talk to him. He was trying to remain patient, but it was hard when he was desperately wanting an answer.

"Cecil was a young boy that the village took care of when his family was murdered in a dragon raid. He was probably only about three or four years old. He received that cut below his eye the same way you received on your chin."

Hiccup waited for more.

"At first, his aunts and uncles took him it, but as his families started to die off from illness, dragon raids, what have you—he found himself alone more than with someone. One night, I found him asleep in with the herd of sheep to stay warm. He couldn't have been but maybe nine or ten years old. It was freezing cold outside. His clothes were all tattered, and he was dirty. I went and told your grandfather—and he went out to get him, and carried him inside to the hearth. After that, we adopted him into our home."

"So—he's basically my uncle?" Hiccup asked.

"If you want to call him that you can," Valka replied softly. "Cecil didn't stay on the island very long after Stoick and I married. He wanted to go explore. He thought there was more than staying on the island."

Hiccup pondered for a few moments, collecting some thoughts. "Mom—he chased dragons for Drago—"

"That he did," said Valka. He eventually left Drago. He and I met one night and exchanged a few words prior to him leaving that cause. I believe he went into hiding a while afterwards. He seemed rather lost. I think he held resentment towards dragons for killing his family. They only did it out of self-defense—"

"Cecil—knew you were alive all this time?" Hiccup said. Valka noted the tone of his voice; it was angry, worried, concerned, and rather scared sounding.

"Not the whole time. We only met about a year or two following my leave here," she said.

Hiccup turned away from her. Someone had known that she was alive after she left, after she was thought to have been dead. He had heard rumors his whole childhood that she was out there somewhere, abandoned him when Gothi told Stoick and herself that he wouldn't be very strong as a child or a teenager. He had been told she had been too ashamed to stay. He also heard his mother didn't want to be stuck on the island to raise a child that wasn't physically strong, cut all her ties to the island, and left Stoick to raise him. His father had told him that she was taken by a dragon, never to be seen again, which he knew was the truth as far as Stoick knew.

Hiccup knew when he saw his parents reconnect after nearly twenty years apart, that what Stoick had told him had been the truth to his knowledge. There wasn't any denying it. But the rumors the other kids, including Snotlout, had said to him had been lies they had heard from their parents or made up themselves.

Hiccup blinked those thoughts away, and decided to carry on with their current conversation.

"Cecil cannot be bad," Hiccup said. "He may have strayed away, but he cannot be evil. I don't think he—"

"Why are you so worried about this man?" Valka asked him.

"He saved my life," he told her. "I know he helped us escape." He bit his thumb nail in thought. "Just how? And is he okay?"

"Cecil is a survivor. Don't you worry about him."

"I do, Mom. Dagur was going to kill me. If he knew Cecil helped me escape, I am sure he would kill Cecil as well—"

"So, what are you thinking?" Valka asked him again.

"I want to go back and save him—" Valka's eyes became really big, and her face became rather red. "—if he is still alive he needs—"

"You are not going back to that island!" Valka yelled, taking a stand. "I am demanding you let this go, right now, Hiccup!"

Hiccup glared at her. Valka saw the hatred and anger in his eyes. He suddenly slammed his palm into the mug of broth, spilling it all over the floor. He grabbed his crutch and headed towards the door.

"Hiccup—"

"Let me be," he said to her, quietly.

"Hiccup—"

He pulled the door open. Outside the sun was just coming up in the distance. Soon, daylight would overtake the village.

"You are being rather ridiculous," she said to him. "As chief you need to be more conscious of your actions—"

"I am NOT your chief!" Hiccup turned and screamed at her. "I am YOUR SON!"

"Hiccup—"

At this point Toothless and Astrid were at the banister, watching the two argue back and forth. Astrid was relieved to see that Hiccup was not hurt, just angry. Toothless cooed at her worriedly.

"Look around me, Mom! Do I look like Stoick the Vast right now? Of course not! Stoick the Vast he—he wouldn't be one-legged, his arm wouldn't be dislocated, and he wouldn't have been held captive for—for—Odin knows how long—by DAGUR!"

"Hiccup—"

"Don't," he said sternly. It took all he had to hold back the tears in his eyes. "Just don't."

"Son—" She stopped when he gave her a glare. "It isn't a good idea for your safety to go rescue one man, especially in your current condition. Cecil is capable of taking care of himself—"

"I thought the same for myself, as well," Hiccup said to her coldly. "Now, look at me."

"It's your duty to look out for the well-being of the village, not one man—"

Hiccup had heard enough. He started out the house, even though he knew he would be slow, and headed away.

Toothless hurried down the banister and rushed out the door after him. Neither looked back as they left.


	10. Chapter 10

**I struggled with this one a little bit. Took a few days of thought to do it. I hope it's okay. Seems a little dark do me, adds more complication to the story. It is the longest chapter I have as well. I am hoping to have another done this time next week.**

 **Also, guys, I work 2 jobs and have a ton of animals. I barely have time to write and crochet, but I go on binges and cannot stop! Please be patient. If you get antsy, drop me a friendly hint ;)**

Astrid sighed as she watched the sun begin to set below the horizon. She leaned against Stormfly at the highest peak on the island. She felt lonely. She had hoped this would be where she found Hiccup after he barged out of the house at sunrise. She couldn't locate him. Knowing he couldn't get off the island without Toothless, without the saddle, and without a pegleg, she had decided not to worry. If something was wrong, Toothless would have come looking for someone.

He needed space. She understood that. He'd had three of them motoring him for nearly five days, Valka, Eret and herself. Valka had pushed his buttons. Usually, he wouldn't have acted like that. Hiccup typically could keep his cool in pressing discussions like that, especially with his mother. He'd had enough, and took off without looking back.

She twisted her wedding band on her finger, rubbing her thumb against the metal. Hiccup had made their bands himself prior to their marriage. It was something she actually hadn't been expecting since he had been putting a lot of his time to his other gadgets. It was a nice surprise when Gobber had gotten towards the end of their ceremony, had asked Fishlegs for the rings. She had thought they had discussed there were none, but, of course, Hiccup had changed plans. Somehow, he had managed to get her sizing just right.

Hearing something behind them, she didn't move. She could tell it was Hiccup approaching them. He was never good at keeping quiet even if he tried. With him now being dependent on a crutch, he really wasn't quiet.

"Evening," he said quietly to her once he was in her preferable vision. He glanced down at her awkwardly.

"Have a seat," she said gently.

She realized Toothless wasn't with him, and she started to look for him, but noticed the dragon had taken a seat a little farther behind them. Not exactly sure why, but the dragon remained distant.

Hiccup threw his crutch down at his foot, and took a seat beside her in the grass. He grimaced when he jarred his ribs, but that pain soon went away. Astrid and he sat in silence for a few moments, both just watching the sunset. Hiccup was the first to speak.

"I'm sorry I left you like I did this morning," he said to her gently.

She turned to him, and saw the sorrow in his eyes. He looked troubled, and exhausted.

"I just needed some space from Mom," he said. He took in a breath, watching how deep he inhaled, and sighed. "When I left a few weeks ago, Mom had been hounding me."

"I heard her talking to you that morning."

"It wasn't exactly talking to me—it was more like—telling me how to do this, when to do that, and almost as though she was telling me if I wasn't home for dinner I was grounded."

Astrid sighed. "I wish I knew how to help you with that, but I don't."

Hiccup chuckled slightly, then pulled her closer to him, relaxing against Stormfly with her. He wrapped his arm around her shoulder, and she leaned her head against him. She relaxed in his arm.

"I know Mom is just trying to be helpful."

"Hiccup, you've been running the village under Stoick since you were sixteen years old," Astrid began. "A duty here—a job here—a mission there. She wasn't here to see you do those things. She showed up on Berke, and you were declared chief an hour later. It's been a year and a half. By this point, she needs to trust you can run the village without her breathing down your neck telling you how to operate."

"Something else is going on with her," Hiccup said. "I think—I think it's something to do with how long she was gone. She was the wife of a chief. She had jobs to do with Dad. When she left, she grew into the responsibility of caring for the dragons in the valley of the mountains. Here, well, she's—a widow. A mother to the chief. I—I wonder if she's a little lost, you know?"

Astrid smiled a little bit. "Sometimes, Hiccup, you care too much—"

"She's my mom, Astrid," Hiccup said.

"I didn't mean it in a bad way—" Astrid sat up and looked at her husband. He wasn't mad. What a relief!

"I don't know how to handle telling her without hurting her feeling," said Hiccup. "I know she wants to be helpful and give suggestions. But, sometimes she acts as though it's a done deal, no argument."

"You know, I always assumed you got your stubbornness from Stoick," Astrid said. "Now, I am not so sure."

Hiccup laughed gently. "Dad said the same thing."

The finished watching the sun set across the sea. A gentle cold breeze hit them. Although it was soothing for Astrid, Hiccup wasn't feeling the same way. After a few moments of feeling him shake against her, Astrid urged him to get up and head back to the house.

"I'm afraid you may have over-exerted yourself today."

"Okay, Mom," he said to her.

"No, seriously, Hiccup, let's get you back to the house."

Halfway down the hill towards home, Hiccup couldn't keep going on a crutch. Instead, he helped himself up on Toothless and allowed the dragon to walk for him. He didn't like it, but he knew he needed to.

"Astrid, can I ask a favor?" He paused.

"Of course."

"I am going after Cecil, when I heal. I couldn't live with myself if I didn't try—Not after the kindness he showed me. Can you support me with that? Or do you think I am crazy, too?"

"Hiccup, I don't think you are crazy for wanting to go get him.

"I'll go with you," Astrid said to him. "I won't let you go alone."

He smiled. "I knew you wouldn't. When I'm back up to par, when I am able to make another saddle and make the gears, test them and Toothless and I get back to ourselves, I'm going—we're going."

Gobber woke up suddenly to a loud bang outside his home. He recognized the noise. He hadn't heard it in years, not since the dragon academy had started. He pushed himself out of bed, and walked out the door and the ten feet into the door of the Forge. Sure enough, just as he had suspected.

Hiccup was on the ground. Toothless was trying to help him up by lifting him up by the back of his shirt, and a pile of supplies laid just in front of him. A shelf had fallen down from the wall.

"Ye' up to no good ou' here, I see," Gobber said to him, his hand at his waste.

"Sorry, Gobber," Hiccup sighed. He struggled to get back onto his good foot, and Gobber helped him up and into a chair. He could see the embarrassment on Hiccup's face. For a moment, he looked like the clumsy ten-year-old that caused the havoc in the Forge years ago.

"Hiccup, why ye' out this late a' night?" Gobber asked him, as he grabbed a broom and started pushing everything Hiccup had knocked down back into a back closet.

Toothless had leaned himself against where Hiccup sat. He cooed quietly up at his rider.

"Well—it's—" Hiccup had attempted to not make his need sound so pathetic. But, no words came. He sighed. "I can't walk—"

"Ah, I wondered when you'd be over," Gobber said to him. Gobber pulled his apron on. "Now, let's get to work—"

"What?" Hiccup asked, in shock.

"Ye' want ter' make yourself a new leg, righ'?" Gobber asked. "Well, I'm right here."

"You're serious?"

Toothless cooed excitedly, his back end started dancing.

"I'm up—yer' up. Why not?" asked Gobber, as he started the fire. "Gronkle iron?"

Hiccup nodded, excited. He felt like it was Snoggletoff. "What can I do to help?"

"You just sit back on tha' chair and keep me company. And watch what I be doing. I think I kno' how you did it before, but I usually don't put that extra Hiccup charm in my work like you do, lad." Gobber winked at him.

"Okay, Gobber." Hiccup was silent for a moment. "Thank you."

"No problem. I figure' you'd be down when you go' tired of walking with tha' crutch. I expected you sooner than this, though."

Hiccup didn't comment, but merely nodded. He had wanted to. He just didn't know if he could actually do anything with an injured shoulder. When he fell down the stairs earlier to get something to eat, he'd had it and made his way to the Forge.

"You okay, lad?" Gobber asked.

"Yeah, I'm okay."

"You seem, lost in a bi' of thought," Gobber said, placing a piece of metal into the fire.

"A little bit," Hiccup replied back. He sat in silence for a moment and watched Gobber turn the metal as it softened. "Gobber, can I ask you something?"

"Sure, lad," said Gobber.

"Do you remember someone who used to live on the village named—Cecil?" he asked. He hesitated.

Gobber seemed to stiffen slightly at the mentioning of Cecil's name, then he relaxed a moment. "I do." Wasn't like Gobber to shorten an answer like that.

Hiccup sighed, somewhat frustrated.

"Ye' don't want to be barking up that tree, Hiccup," he said after some silence. "Yer' mom doesn't like to talk about Cecil."

"Why?" Hiccup asked. "What did he do so bad that she cannot forgive him?"

"Never mind that," Gobber said. "He's a man with a troubled past. If he sets foot on this island, it won't be pre'dy."

Hiccup's eyes narrowed. "Gobber, do you realize he saved my life?"

Gobber sighed. "I do, Hiccup. But, to be 'onest I don' know why."

Hiccup watched Gobber place his tools down. He seemed sluggish. He pulled up a chair and sat down close to Hiccup.

"What do you know about Cecil?" he asked after a moment.

Hiccup sighed. He didn't know exactly where to start. He chose his words wisely. He could tell he was treading on thin ice.

"Over in the caves on Outcast Island I wasn't shown kindness. Dagur's anger and—and level of crazy has elevated. He did ALL of this damage to me pretty much single-handedly. He went mad—madder than I have seen him before. I couldn't stop him—at all. I couldn't talk him out of anything. I could barely get him to listen to things I was telling him.

"When I thought for sure I was going to die, Gobber, Cecil stood in front of me and defended me. He fed me when I was too weak to feed myself. When my fever was getting worse, he made sure to give me medication to help me sleep. He dulled my pain with herbs."

Tears were now in Hiccup's eyes.

"I haven't been that scared in my life. Even with the giant queen dragon. With Drago—even when Dad was KILLED—" Hiccup was half sobbing by this point. He struggled to catch his breath. His chest heaved.

"Slow down." Gobber began to him, but Hiccup put his hand up to stop him. Gobber had started to come closer to Hiccup.

"Without Cecil, I would have died. I don't—don't understand WHY I cannot get YOU or MOM to understand that!"

Gobber swallowed and sighed. He let Hiccup cry for a moment, then he put his hand on Hiccup's leg and gave it a little pat. He'd expected Hiccup to push him away. He didn't.

"I talked to your mom today," Gobber said to him gently. "When your mom and he ran into each other after she disappeared—Cecil almost killed her with his bare hands."

Hiccup's stomach dropped. "What?!"

"It didn't come easy for your mother to tell me," Gobber said. "She's struggling just as much as you are with the idea of Cecil. He saved you, but wanted her dead at one point in his life."

Hiccup let out a deep breath. "I wish I'd known."

Gobber shrugged his shoulders. "People change, Hiccup. Your father did at the idea of living among the dragons. You changed. You mother is afraid Cecil may be using you for some other reason. She's just wary. She's being a mom."

"Earlier today it seemed as though she was trying to tell me how to do my job," Hiccup said. "Gobber, I didn't want this job."

Gobber placed his hand up this time, stopping Hiccup from continuing. "We all know ye' didn't, Hiccup. I think you are a good chief." He stood up. "Let's put this conversation aside, and get ye' back on two legs, okay?"

Hiccup nodded. "Thanks, Gobber."


	11. Chapter 11

Weeks had gone by since Hiccup had returned home. The villagers were starting to see more of him now that he was walking, and had asked about his shoulder and some visible bruises. He had yet to put his usual armor back on since he had returned home. "Toothless and I had a bit of a tumble," was always his reply. Luckily, his friends hadn't said much to him or asked much about what had happened. Outside of Eret, Gobber and his immediate family, most of the details of the incident on Outcast Island had been kept quiet.

Slowly, life seemed to be going back to normal. Surprisingly, with Hiccup still being hurt, anything laboring was brought to Gobber's attention. A lot of the land concerns were taken to Astrid and Valka. As for keeping watch out to sea, Eret had taken over. For the most part, Hiccup's job description was temporarily pretty limited.

About two weeks since patrol had started, one evening Eret approached Hiccup around dusk, bringing a couple of chicken legs with him. Hiccup was in the Forge, sewing up some leather for a new saddle for Toothless. He was ready to be out of his sling. His shoulder was holding him back.

"Hey, mate," Eret said to him. He felt light he was walking on eggshells with the chief right now. He didn't want to set him off. "Astrid said you need to eat."

Hiccup sighed and shook his head. He gave a weak smile to his friend. "Thanks, Eret, but I'll be okay."

"I would have to agree with her," Eret said to him gently, setting down the plate on the workbench where Hiccup sat. "How about I take over and you eat?" Without hesitating, he took the large pieces of leather from Hiccup and left the plate in front of him.

Hiccup let out a sigh, and after a few minutes he began to piece at the chicken, leaving them in silence for a long while.

"I haven't had an opportunity to ask how you were doing," Eret said to him, breaking the silence..

Hiccup chuckled a little bit. "I think you asked me that a few days ago."

"Hmmm, I may have forgotten," Eret said. "Can I ask you something, though?"

"Of course."

"How's your nightmares?"

This struck a nerve with Hiccup. He pushed his half eaten leg away from himself. He sighed. "They come and go. Although, Eret, I am sure Astrid has told you this."

Eret nodded, and rethreaded his needle. "She's concerned."

"I know she is." Hiccup was silent for a moment. "Eret, I'm glad she went to you that night. Had she gone to Fishlegs, the twins…Or Snotlout—Thor forbid—it would have been all over the village. I'm embarrassed—"

"Hiccup, you were ambushed. There wasn't anything else you could have done."

"My dad would have gotten out of there." Again, referencing his father. Lately, other than Cecil, all Hiccup could do was continue to compare himself to his father.

"Your father also probably wouldn't have gone there alone. You were approaching fairly friendly territory. Had you known it was dangerous, would you have gone alone? No. Don't let that weigh you down."

Hiccup sighed.

"Anyways, I wanted to propose something to you." Eret pushed the leather aside a little bit. "I know you are worried about Cecil. I know you are worried about Dagur taking over. But, I feel as though there's too many riders out on patrol—"

Eret was already seeing his answer in his eyes, and Hiccup was immediately shaking his head.

"We cannot shorten our patrol numbers. Dagur could have thousands of people—"

"Hiccup, you don't know that—"

"I know that I don't know how many people he has, Eret. But, I cannot afford for him to break the barriers. The village needs protected."

"Your riders need rest. Even just for a day. This is what I want to propose. I want to still keep a rotation, but be able to let everyone rest a full day. We will do it in shifts. It won't shorten our numbers too much. You'll have better soldiers out there watching our village if they rest."

Hiccup sighed, knowing his friend was right. They hadn't had a real break in weeks. They all had things to do around the village other than patrol. Hiccup, on the other hand, was stuck on land because he didn't have saddle to ride.

"I have a condition," Hiccup said at last.

"What is that?"

"I want out on patrol."

"Hiccup—how—your arm?"

"If you keep helping me with this saddle, I can do it to help. I think Astrid and Gobber's left me to work on it alone to stall me—"

"I can understand that—"

"Please, Eret," Hiccup said, grabbing his arm. "I have got to get up in the air. Toothless is going stir crazy. Please—"

Eret could see the desperation in Hiccup's face. He sighed. They sat in silence for a few moments, then he said, "I can't do iron work too well. How are you going to do the gears?"

"I have that covered already. There's a spare set of gears already made. It's the saddle I wasn't prepared to be missing."

Eret thought for a moment, but then sighed. He was looking at a young, desperate chief. He sighed, finally giving into his request.

"Okay, Hiccup, let's do this."

At dawn, Eret pulled the saddle over Toothless. It wasn't perfect, but the final touches could be done at any point in time. It would suite the purpose of a test flight, however. The dragon was about to bust with glee as the leather slipped along his back.

"You two understand no funny business, right?" Eret asked. "Valka will kill me if something else happened to you?"

"Mom will be fine," Hiccup said gently. Toothless cooed in agreement. He licked his rider's face with glee. "Toothless, why?"

Eret tightened up the saddle straps. He inspected to make sure the saddle wouldn't slip in any fashion. "Toothless, I am telling you—"

The dragon snorted at him.

"Please—"

Toothless looked at him, glaring, and Hiccup chucked slightly. Eret didn't figure Toothless would intentionally harm Hiccup. He didn't think he would do anything stupid, but Eret's anxiety caused him to ask. He wanted to reinforce the rules.

Hiccup positioned himself on the saddle. Eret thought for sure he would snap his leg in, and they would be off in a heart-beat, but that was not the case. Hiccup took his time. He leaned forward in the saddle, inspecting how it was on Toothless's back. He checked the strap (not once but four times) to make sure it was secure. Hiccup shifted his weight a little bit on the saddle as well, and chuckled slightly.

"Our other one was broken in. This is going to take some getting used to."

Hiccup snapped his leg into the gears. That was when a thought occurred to Eret.

"Have you tested that set yet?"

"It's been a while, but yes." Hiccup smiled at him. "You are worrying too much, my friend."

"If more physical injuries happen because of me, you know your mother wouldn't let me hear the end of it. And your wife—"

"I know, Eret. But, trust me, I will be okay. We—we will be okay," Hiccup corrected himself. He touched Toothless's head gently. The dragon looked up at him. Glee showed on both their faces. "Ready, bud?"

Toothless nodded, shifting his feet.

"Okay, circle around the ridge here a little bit, and we will come back down, okay?"

Toothless nodded, gave Hiccup a moment to brace himself, and they were off.

A few seconds later, Hiccup was screaming with joy. Toothless sent plasma blasts into the air. Eret watched, happy for his friend.

"Yes! Baby, yes!" he screamed at the top of his lungs.

Hiccup and Toothless gently glided back and forth, not leaving Eret's sight. He could tell Toothless was being a little more careful with how he flew as well as to not throw Hiccup off the saddle or jar him in any way.

Suddenly, Eret was pushed from behind him, which almost knocked him to his knees. He turned on his heel and realized it was Astrid, and she was charging him again.

"How could you!?" she yelled at him. "He's—going—to get hurt!"

"Astrid, he's fine," Eret said, putting his hands up to her. He slid sideways to avoid her charge.

"Hiccup knows no limits—don't you know this?" she yelled.

Fishlegs was returning back to the peak on Meatlug from the end of his watch. Both were yawning, very exhausted.

"I will be happy to crawl into bed for a bit, girl, what about you?" he asked her.

She nodded in approval, but the sudden plasma bolt blast shot them both.

"What the—" It was then they saw Hiccup above them riding. "Where—when—" Fishlegs was lost.

Hiccup's glee was cut short when he heard some muffled yells below him. He turned and saw Astrid charge Eret, who again stepped out of the way. The chief felt his heart sink as Toothless cooed at him.

"I wasn't expecting this already," he said to his buddy. He sighed again, rubbing his face in frustration. "C'mon, Toothless, let's go settle her down."

Astrid charged Eret again, and this time she made connection. Instead of knocking him off balance again, he caught her, pushed her to the ground, and held her arms down, while she kicked the air trying to get up and fight him. He took a seat behind her on his knees, and looked down at her.

"You need to calm down," he said to her.

"You shouldn't have helped him with that saddle!" she yelled.

Toothless came soaring down a few yards from them, and shortly followed behind Fishlegs and Meatlug. Hiccup sat looking at his friend and wife from the saddle. Toothless seemed to be waiting for him to get off, but he wasn't. The truth was, when they had landed, he felt the onset of a headache. And suddenly dizzy. He mentally blamed it on being attached to the ground for too long.

Eret let go of Astrid's arms, and backed up. She pushed herself to a sitting position and glared at both Hiccup and Toothless. Hiccup could see the tears in her eyes. She was holding them back as best as she could.

"Astrid—"

"No!" she yelled at him, getting to her feet. "You shouldn't be up in the air. Not with your shoulder like that."

"Astrid, nothing happened," Hiccup said. "We just glided along. We are fine."

"HICCUP!" she screamed suddenly. Her eyes were welling up with more tears. After a few seconds, she didn't speak another word. Instead, she walked away. Hiccup thought he could hear a few little sobs break through her, but if they did, he could barely hear them.

"Mate—" Eret began.

Hiccup shook his head, ignoring Eret. He wanted to watch her walk off. She was heading to the Academy—down to Stormfly.

"Fishlegs—"

"Yes—"

"I know you've been working all night, but if you would, follow her. Something is going on with her. I don't know what exactly."

Fishlegs sighed and nodded. "Okay." With that, he and Meatlug turned and fled down towards the Academy.

Eret watched Hiccup stare down from where he sat on Toothless. Toothless seemed a little confused, waiting for Hiccup to move or say something, but he did not for a little while. Eret rubbed the back of his neck, feeling a little nervous. He didn't know what to do or say to Hiccup. He sighed, and decided to gently approach.

Walking on eggshells around Hiccup and Astrid had not been pleasant the last few weeks. Both seemed very sensitive and tense around the other. Especially now that Hiccup was gaining his independence.

"Hiccup—I—"

"It's okay, Eret. I am sorry you had to see that. And I am sorry she attacked you."

"In all fairness, mate, I attacked her the night she and your mother brought you to shore." Hiccup made eye contact with him. The chief's face looked slightly pale, and his eyes shown exhaustion. Eret was surprised he hadn't noticed it before. Eret broke contact, and motioned for Toothless to walk with him. He was taking them home, or to Gothi. He hadn't decided.

"The night Astrid came to me to help you, she had busted into the house late at night. If she knocked, I didn't hear it. She tumbled over a chair I always sit at the bottom of the stairs. She couldn't see it. Her fall woke me up. When she arrived to my room, I was waiting with my sword. We shuffled, and I pinned her to the wall." Eret cleared his throat. "Since then I have felt a little guilty. I had the blade to her throat, you see."

"Would you have killed her?" Hiccup asked him gently.

Eret shook his head. As they walked, he steadied himself on the slope down into the village homes. They weren't far from Gothi.

"I wouldn't have killed her, no. I've felt bad since that night. I worry I've frightened her—especially—"

"With how crumbled she seems?" Hiccup said. He had finished Eret's sentence. "She's been—sensitive lately more so than I have ever seen her. I've never seen her like this. Even—even when my father passed away—she wasn't like this—"

Eret saw Hiccup lose his balance on the saddle ever so slightly at the bottom of the hill. Toothless felt it as well, and paused. Eret decided he was taking Hiccup to Gothi.

Eret caught him and steadied him. "Are you going to make it? You seem a little—off."

Hiccup studied Eret for a moment and nodded. "I'm a little dizzy."

"When was the last time you had something to eat?" Eret asked.

Hiccup chuckled. "That chicken you brought me last night."

"You barely touched that. And before?"

Hiccup thought for a moment, then shrugged. "Maybe yesterday at breakfast."

Eret let out a loud sigh. Hiccup wasn't taking care of himself. "C'mon, let's get you to Gothi."

Hiccup sighed as Gothi pushed some bread into his hand. She pointed at him and to his mouth with a very stern look on her face. He could just imagine what was going through her head. If she could yell, she probably would have.

Valka sat farther away, and Eret stayed just in the doroway. Hiccup didn't understand the big deal as to why he needed a party during a check-up, but it was what it was.

"Are you still feeling dizzy?" Valka asked him gently.

"A little bit," Hiccup said, taking a bite of bread.

"Can I ask why you haven't been eating?" Valka asked him.

Hiccup looked down at his lap, fumbling with the piece of bread in his hand, and slowly chewing the small piece he had in his mouth. "Can we not talk about that right now, please?"

Valka didn't push this time. She just nodded and let out a deep breath she had been holding.

Gothi checked his temperature, his tongue, even his nub of a leg (which bothered Hiccup, he wanted her to let it go). She then checked his burn (which he wanted to fight her over but didn't) and then she went to his shoulder. She removed the sling, which caused his anxiety to increase. He felt the pain radiate through it from the weight of his forearm. She forced him to straighten it. He tensed up.

"Relax," Valka said to him gently. Gothi motioned Valka to come over and help her. Hiccup closed his eyes to hold in a moan. "Pain level, one to ten—"

"A six—" Hiccup gasped out. His mother slowly moved his shoulder to stretch beside him, holding his hand as she did so. Hiccup squeezed it hard.

"Honey, you are just stiff—"

"Just—" he gasped out again. He felt dizzier.

A few minutes later, Hiccup was back in his sling. He felt faint and cold. Instead of bread, his mother had pushed a cup of cider into his hands. Taking a drink, he recalled Cecil doing the same thing for him week previously.

Gothi scribbled into the sand her instructions.

"Rest, eat, and three times a day we need to start working on that shoulder—"

Hiccup sighed. "Anything else?"

"You don't have a fever."

Hiccup chuckled despite the pain that was flowing through his shoulder and neck. "Well, that's good."

"C'mon, son, let's get you back home and into bed—"

As she helped him out and took a small bag of herbs from Gothi, she reached over and knocked Eret in the back of the head.

"What was that fo'?" he asked her.

"You know very well what it was for—"

"ENOUGH!" Hiccup yelled, quieting them both before the argument escalated. "Can I please get home?"

Toothless hung close, and Hiccup climbed back onto the saddle. He tried not to let the pain show through him. "Oh, Eret—"

"Yes—"

"Send my wife home if you see her, please."

 **I admit guys, this chapter bored me. I wanted to get Hiccup back into the saddle but couldn't figure out the best way to go about it. I have other ideas in mind now, so I hope to get those to you guys soon!**


	12. Chapter 12

**Back again! I hope you guys like this one!**

Astrid had turned away Fishlegs and Eret when they approached her at the Academy. The only thing that Eret and Fishlegs could tell Hiccup when they returned was that she was at the Academy. She wasn't planning on flying. Her heart wasn't into it. And Stormfly was already exhausted from being on patrol so much here lately.

She laid down in Stormfly's pin and relaxed against her sleeping dragon. It was the most peaceful place she could think of to be at, outside of going to the Cove. She assumed someone would follow her there. And if Hiccup saw her passing by the house, he might have tried to follow her into the woods.

Why was she so mad at Eret? She really wasn't. She had used Eret as her punching bag. She really wanted to punch Hiccup. He should have known better then to reconstruct his saddle. She assumed he had puppy-dog-eyed Eret into helping him. Of course, Hiccup was getting stir crazy. Everyone was taking over his duties. He'd been through a lot. He was getting fed up being tip-toed around and babied.

She hadn't been herself lately. She knew that. Suddenly, this kinder, gentler soul had come out of her. Through all of her worry, she had changed. Hiccup being gone and returning like he was had changed her.

And their relationship.

They hadn't been looking out of each other lately. It was more of everyone trying to look out after Hiccup. They knew they had been treating him fragile. He had been, and in her eyes he still was with a still-injured shoulder.

"Maybe he's more capable than we are giving him credit for," she said to herself.

"I'm more capable than you are giving me credit for," Hiccup said to his mother.

She sat across from him at the kitchen table. Gobber sat a bowl of yak noodle soup down in front of them both.

"Ye' need to eat," Gobber said to him, shoving a spoon into his hand.

"I just haven't been hungry," he said.

"You can't afford to lose more weight," Valka said.

"I know that," Hiccup said quietly to her. He was cooling off a spoonful of soup by blowing onto it. "Have you guys seen Astrid?"

"Eret and Fishlegs told you she was with Stormfly," Valka said.

"That's been hours ago."

"She's an adult. She will be just fine."

"I'm an adult—I am chief—and you guys treat me as though I am still a child." Hiccup took a bite of his soup. It was still warmer than he wanted it, but it tasted good.

"How do you expect us to treat you when you don't eat?" Valka asked.

Hiccup sighed, and put his spoon down. He felt like crawling into the Cove and not coming out again for weeks. He ran his good hand through his hair and sighed.

"Mom, do you know how depressing it has been being cooped up? I'm not incapable. I've got my leg, now that the saddle is decent and operable Toothless and I can get around a little easier on Berke…Be more useful in getting things done around here. Everyone's—taken over. Don't get me wrong, I appreciate it—But I really need to get back into the swing of things…Before I lose all my dignity."

Valka went to speak, but Gobber spoke over her.

"Ye're right, Chief. Ye're more'n capable. How's 'bout tomorrow we get going again? I need 'elp in the Forge. Ye could take some orders for me."

Hiccup seemed to brighten up a little bit at the mentioning of this. "I'd love to."

"Then get to eat'n."

Hiccup started clearing his bowl very quickly.

Valka smiled up at Gobber, who gave her a wink.

Sunset was approaching and Astrid had not returned back to the house quite yet. Hiccup was growing a little worried about her, but had to trust that his mother was right: She will return back home in her own time.

When he heard the door to the bedroom open, he looked up from his doodles. His mother was bringing in some tea for him. He was looking forward to something warm going down his throat.

"This isn't mixed with all those herbs, is it?" he asked her when he saw something green floating in his tea.

"It's mint," she said softly. She took a seat beside him at his work desk. The sipped their tea in silence for a few moments, then she said, "You know, we just worry about you getting ill again, son. We don't like to babysit you anymore than you like us to."

Hiccup could tell this had been on her mind for a little while. She just didn't know how to approach it. "I know, Mom," he said. "I know you guys are just trying to watch out for me. It is appreciated."

"Do you feel any better than you did earlier today?" she asked him.

"I honestly do," Hiccup said.

Valka smiled gently, then reached over and touched his hand. Surprisingly, he held her's rather tightly. It was the first time he'd voluntarily welcomed her touch in weeks.

"Mom, I'm sorry," he said. "I'm sorry I overdid it last night. I'm sorry for not eating. And I am sorry I am worrying you and Astrid so much. I know I am not doing you guys any favors, or myself."

"I'm sorry, too," she said, rubbing her thumb over the top of his hand. His skin felt soft. "I think I've been too hard on you here lately."

"Not too hard," Hiccup corrected her. "Overprotective—maybe. But, I know I deserve that."

"Astrid and I have, yes."

After a few minutes of silence, Hiccup turned to his mother.

"Something that has been bothering me. Gobber—" He debated on whether or not to keep going after he started to ask. After a second, he decided the worst she could tell him was 'no.' He decided to keep going. "Gobber told me that you and Cecil had it out."

Surprisingly, Valka didn't stop him. She nodded gently.

"You knew about the scar on his eye," Hiccup said. "He didn't get that as a child, did he?"

Valka shook her head gently. "No, he did not. He received that scar just like the way you received the one on your chin. When a dragon decided to protect you, they will put their life in danger to do so. When mine was, Cloudjumper caused that damage to Cecil."

"How long ago was that, Mom?" Hiccup asked.

"The day he came looking for me. A year or two after I left Berke. Frankly, I am surprised he didn't return here to tell Stoick he had seen me, knowing I was alive. I half expected the Armada to show up. They never came."

Hiccup nodded.

"Do you think he's changed?" Valka asked Hiccup.

Hiccup sighed. "He went through great lengths with Dagur to help me. I am sure he could have been put down by a few men for charging Dagur. But, they left him alone, and Dagur left me alone. After Gobber told me that Cecil had tried to kill you, I have been hesitating a little bit on my feeling with him."

Valka nodded. "He came after me years ago, when he had joined up with Drago. He got away. He wasn't in the mess we had two years ago. I kept looking for him while we cleaned up the place, half expecting him to be hiding somewhere but he wasn't here. Maybe he has changed. I don't know. I do know, that I am grateful he saved you."

Hiccup sighed. "Something I have been wanting to ask…What kind of rumors are going around the village about me?"

Valka seemed taken aback. "None."

Hiccup gave her a look. "I know better. Spill it."

Valka sighed. "They seem worried. You walking around and making some presence has eased things down a bit. Don't worry. You will have plenty of time to bring everyone at ease tomorrow."

Hiccup sighed. "Dad always made this job look easier than it is. Here lately—with this bum shoulder—I've felt like I was fourteen all over again."

"Fourteen?"

Hiccup sighed. "Back when I was Hiccup the Useless. I couldn't do anything right—I couldn't lift a hammer, I couldn't lift an axe—I couldn't lift a cross bow—" He sighed. "On Toothless—with Toothless—I can do so much more than sit back and let life pass me by." He paused. "I'm the chief. And Dad wouldn't be sitting here like I am now struggling to get out there and do something to help prevent—prevent—my WORST NIGHTMARE from coming onto the island and hurting us all!"

Valka placed her hand on Hiccup's good shoulder to calm him. "You aren't fourteen anymore, Hiccup. And you are not Stoick. And he wasn't his father, nor his father before him. You are Hiccup. You do your chiefing in your own way. Your father was a strong man, very deeply voiced. He was clever, but not near as clever as you are."

"He just—seemed so—"

"Stoic," his mother chuckled. "You get that way yourself, you know? Earlier up until you nearly fell off of Toothless, Eret didn't realize you weren't up to par."

"I might be able to hide that, but this shoulder—" he shook his head. "I thought the burn was bad. The longer I have to deal with this arm the worst it seems to get."

"Speaking of your arm—" Valka moved over to his backside and began undoing the sling. "We need to do some therapy on it—"

"Please, Mom, not right now—"

Toothless sensed Hiccup's uneasiness from his slumber on his stone slab. He came over and sat down in front of his rider and proceeded to try to calm him gently.

"Let's at least massage the muscles around your socket, and then we will go from there."

Hiccup bit his lip. "What choice do I really have?"

"One—Let me work on your shoulder."

Hiccup closed his eyes and tried to imagine himself riding on the back of his best friend while hiccup nuzzled him gently.

"Hiccup—C'mon, my friend. Wake up."

The strong voice sounded so feint. Hiccup didn't know who it was calling his name, begging him to wake up. He let a moan escape in his breath. He was suddenly aware of how horrible his head was pounding, and the pain radiating through his shoulder and chest.

"Sleep—" he breathed.

"C'mon, lad," the voice said again. This was when Hiccup felt gentle smacks hit his cheeks. Hiccup opened his eyes, and saw Cecil looking at him. "Sorry, lad, but we got to move."

"What's—wrong?" Hiccup asked.

Cecil's cool hand made contact with Hiccup's raging forehead. The coolness gave Hiccup a few seconds of ease to his throbbing head.

"You need to drink this," Cecil said to him. He helped Hiccup hold his head up for a drink of mead from a small cup. The taste nearly made him gag. He couldn't get used to it, but he was hoping it would take the pain in his forehead down.

"We need to move quickly, my friend," said Cecil. "Time to get you out of here."

Suddenly, Hiccup comprehended Toothless in the background making a lot of noise from where he hung upside down in his small prison. Hearing Toothless's uneasiness caused Hiccup some extra panic.

"Toothless—"

"Our five days are up," Cecil said to him. "Dagur has been coming closer and closer to the door of the last few hours. He's getting impatient. If we do not get you out of here before sun up, he's going to come in and probably kill both of us."

"But—"

"No buts, Hiccup." Cecil was walking around their small area, gathering blankets and other small items into a satchel. His hurriness was making Toothless even more uneasy. "Stop it, dragon! You are only going to bring more attention down here if you keep that up."

"Cecil—I'm not strong enough—not yet—"

"I cannot buy you more time with Dagur—"

"I won't make it—"

"Hiccup, you remaining here for another hour is going to put your life in jeopardy. You are getting into a boat, and going back to Berke. I am taking you there myself."

"Toothless—I can't leave him—"

"Never you-mind about your dragon," Cecil said.

"No—No! I'm not—" Hiccup suddenly felt a hand go over his mouth.

"SHHHHH! Calm down, lad! Do you want to bring all the muttin-heads down here before I manage to get you out?"

"Cecil, let me die, please—" Hiccup was in panic mode. He couldn't believe he had allowed Cecil to take care of him, help him get well, and then take him away from his best friend. He wanted to die with Toothless.

"These last five days—I cannot keep living feeling like this—"

"Look at me, boy!" Cecil was in Hiccup's face at this point, looking him dead in the eyes. "I told you I will not let you die under my watch, Hiccup. Trust me."

"I've trusted you since you loosened my rope. I could have died days ago and not been in this much pain—"

"I don't have time to argue with you over this. Keep quiet and I will be back."

Hiccup didn't know where Cecil disappeared to. He remembered footsteps fading away. At some point, Hiccup must have lost consciousness, because the next thing he knew, he felt a warm lick against his face. The smell of dragon breath.

"Tooth—less?"

"Yes, boy!" Cecil said. "Now, you are going to have to help me walk—"

Hiccup shook his head. "I—I—"

"Hiccup! Listen to me! I've kept you alive in these taverns for over a week! At this point, do not give up on us now. You have a will to live, my friend. You just need to help me walk a little ways, and then you can rest. Toothless will protect you, all right?"

Hiccup nodded. "O—Okay."

Cecil pulled the satchel over his shoulder. He glanced around the room, and then went and back to collect Hiccup. The chief's legs gave out as soon as Cecil tried to get him up. Hiccup was too weak. He howled in pain as his shoulder jarred. He felt himself being cradled, then some cloth shoved into his mouth to keep him quiet. Immediately his mouth felt dry.

"This is only temporary, lad," Cecil said. "That shoulder is bothering you, I'm only going to make it worse. We cannot risk you bringing attention to our location—"

A few moments later, the door to the room opened, and Cecil was carrying Hiccup out of the tavern. He could hear Toothless keeping pace close to them. His shoulder was aching horribly. Had the cloth not been in his mouth, he was sure he would have screamed.

Hiccup felt as though Cecil was carrying him through a maze. A few times he had stopped to adjust his grip on Hiccup. Each time he squeezed Hiccup a little more, it hurt. Occasionally, Hiccup opened his eyes to make sure Toothless was still with him.

"Shhhh, easy boy," he heard suddenly. He had dozed off again. It sounded like a female talking to Toothless. "It's okay, Toothless."

He opened his eyes to see where they were. Still in the tunnels below the surface of the island. He felt a gentle hand touch his cheek. He blinked, trying to get his vision to clear better. In front of him, he could make out the female in front of him. Heather was standing there, looking down at him.

"I didn't realize his condition was this bad, Cecil," Heather stated. "He isn't going to survive that boat ride. I need to get Windsheer and get him home—you can get—"

"No!" Cecil said. "He and the dragon must go together. I won't separate them."

"Sending them in a boat to Berke is mad, Cecil!" she cried in a whisper. "It's a three day trip. He won't survive."

"I'm going with him. We already discussed this—"

"You know you guys won't make it out of sight before Dagur notices all three of you missing—you need to stay here and—"

"He'd have my head!"

"You were the one that didn't follow orders, Cecil," said Heather. "The plan was to get him out of here before the final day!"

"Looking at him, do you understand why I kept pushing it off?"

"Yes, Cecil, but I don't feel comfortable enough to send him in a boat. Three days is too long. A day is too long—"

"We have no choice now, Heather," said Cecil. "We will be okay—"

"We will argue about this later," Heather said. "Now, I am going to go distract the guards, and we are getting him out of the caves before Dagur sends a whole flock of dragons after us."

Hiccup shot up out of bed, breathing heavily. He forced himself to hold back a scream. His heart raced, his body felt cold. He moaned involuntarily.

"What's wrong?" Astrid said quickly, touching his bare back. Hiccup was sweating horribly. "Hiccup—"

"Dagur—" he breathed. He heard footsteps approaching their room from downstairs. It wasn't just his mother's. Gobber was with her.

"What is it?" asked Valka.

"The lad looks horrid," Gobber said.

Everything was swimming around Hiccup. Toothless was at the foot of the bed cooing. Astrid was rubbing his sweaty back. Her hand felt cold against him. Gobber was standing behind Valka, who was shaking Hiccup's hand. He barely comprehended the fact that she was asking him what was wrong.

Hiccup's mind was racing. He closed his eyes, trying to block out what he could hear of his family and friend around him.

He remembered.

The cloth being pulled from his mouth once he was in the boat. He had coughed, and Cecil had given him a drink from a canteen in the satchel.

Suddenly, shouts were heard.

"Dagur knows!" Heather said to Cecil. "Get the boat out to sea. Later I will make sure to find it and get it to Berke."

"How?" Cecil asked.

"We will get it figured out. Push it, and lets go!"

In the distance, Hiccup could hear screams, dragons roaring. He heard toothless bouncing noise waves around. He could make out the distant cries of Windsheer. Eventually, the noises faded and sleep came to him.

"Hiccup—"

"Heather—" he breathed.

Astrid's eyes widened. "Heather?"

Hiccup took in a deep breath and let it out. He was attempting to calm himself and focus his mind. His heart was pumping too fast. He was shaking uncontrollably. Eventually, a blanket went around his shoulders to warm him up. Why did he feel so cold?

Toothless pushed Gobber aside, and crawled his way over to Hiccup. The dragon laid down over Hiccup. Instantly, Hiccup's shivering seemed to stop. His mind began to focus.

He felt Astrid's hand over his, giving it a gentle squeeze every few seconds. It just dawned on him that Astrid hadn't been home before he had gone off to bed. When had she shown back up at the house?

"Cecil," he said finally. "Cecil carried me out of the caves." His words came very slowly. "Heather was there. She had distracted the guards. He let Toothless free. He put me in a boat. Suddenly, before I was released, Dagur figured out I had disappeared. Windsheer screamed—" Suddenly, Hiccup became alarmed again. "Why hasn't Heather come back here? She was there—"

"You are sure she was there?" Astrid asked.

"Yes," said Hiccup. "She was arguing with Cecil about the timing. He wanted to come with me, but Heather—she acted as though if he did the plan would have been given away."

"What plan?" Gobber asked.

Hiccup shook his head. "I don't know what plan—Heather! We have to go get her—"

Valka pushed Hiccup back against his pillows. "Hiccup, Heather is fine—"

"No she isn't—"

"We are not fighting over this, Hiccup!" Valka yelled at him. "Calm down. I saw her three days ago!"

It wasn't just Hiccup who looked at her. It was Astrid and Gobber as well.

"When?" Astrid asked.

"It was very early in the morning," Valka said. "We had tea. I told her what had happened to Hiccup. She said she was just passing through and wouldn't bother anyone."

"She never—I don't know—Mentioned the fact that she already knew?" asked Hiccup.

"She did not," Valka said. "Hiccup, you are sure this is all true—"

Hiccup froze. "What do you mean?"

"Are you sure that Dagur took you hostage? Are you sure it wasn't Alvin?"

"You don't believe me?" asked Hiccup.

Valka sighed and looked at Gobber. "Hiccup—we don't know if you are having visions, or nightmares—or what—"

"What are you suggesting?" Hiccup asked her.

"Are you sure it wasn't Alvin—"

"It was Dagur!" Hiccup yelled at her. He bit the inside of his lip. He looked over at Astrid, who seemed a little lost in thought. "What do you think?" he asked her after a moment.

Astrid looked at him, and sighed in defeat. "Hiccup, I don't know, in all honesty—"

"You think I'm dreaming up things, too?" he asked her.

"No—it—you didn't know Heather was there the whole time, then—THERE she is! You don't remember her up until now at all?"

"No, Astrid. But, I believe Cecil saved me from Dagur, and I believe Heather helped me get away."

Suddenly, Hiccup felt more alone than he had been. Astrid seemed to have turned her back on him. His mother was starting to not believe him. Then—

"How would I have known about Cecil considering I had never met him before?" he asked his mother.

"Hiccup—I think you did come across Cecil. But, not in the way you are believing you did."

Hiccup's world began crashing. He felt like he was in a reversed world. Never had he felt this alone. Well, he had felt alone at one point in time. When he was fourteen. Before he met Toothless.

"I need some air," he said gently. He pulled on his peg-leg, and headed for the door. Toothless was right beside him. His wife didn't stop him. His mother didn't stop him. His father's best friend didn't stop him. He proceeded down the stairs, and out of the house with just Toothless beside him. It was still dark.

The world had officially turned it's back on him. He headed right to the Cove in the darkness, letting it swallow him up inside and out.

 **I had SOOOOO much fun writing this! I didn't want it to be this long, so I do apologize. Let me know what you think!**


	13. Chapter 13

**Honestly, I never thought I would write this story in the direction it was going in. In the two years I have played this in my head, I wasn't expecting to make it this far. It has been an adventure these last few weeks. I am thankful for Fanfiction and How to Train Your Dragon. My creativity is coming back to me. Here is Part 13 of the story, and I am sure it will continue to grow.**

 **I do not own How to Train Your Dragon movies or the books…I simply enjoy the characters and creating new adventures for our friends.**

 **Enjoy!**

Hiccup plopped himself in the middle of the woods—the very spot Toothless had landed when he had been shot down. With his legs drawn into him, he sat in the darkness, waiting for the sun to bring light. In all honestly, he wanted to stay in the darkness. Eventually, he would have to move into a better spot. He was sure someone would come looking for him eventually. Anxiety creeped He didn't want to be near them. He didn't want to see his wife.

Astrid.

The anger overtook him and he pounded the dirt with a fist. Out of all the people, he figured she wouldn't have turned her back on him. How could she not trust his judgement? He knew he had seen Heather. He knew he had seen Cecil. They were the reason he had made it back to Berke, somehow alive.

Toothless nuzzled him suddenly. He cooed, and allowed his rider to lean against his side for warmth. Hiccup hadn't realized he was shaking. Was it from being so angry or was he really cold?

As daylight approached, he decided to make his way to the Cove. Even though he knew he couldn't go down into it, the thought of being around it seemed to have given him a little bit of ease. Some comfort. After all, it was the place he had befriended Toothless. It was the place where he had found himself.

Toothless walked with him slowly. When Hiccup would stumble, he would catch him. Hiccup felt his stomach growl slightly, but he wasn't hungry. He didn't feel like eating. Funny, his family had been encouraging him to eat, but after this, yet again he didn't want to eat.

At the mouth of the Cove, Hiccup sat down. He could hear birds chirping as they bathed in the water below. It was still mid-morning. He had been listening for anyone approaching them from behind. No one came.

Toothless cooed at him gently. Hiccup gave him a lopsided grin, and he reached up and rubbed his dragons head. He sighed.

"Toothless, did I really see Heather out at the caves?" he asked.

The dragon snorted, and wagged his tail. He showed Hiccup his gummy smile, and licked his face.

"I thought so," he said. "I wish Astrid understood."

Eventually, Toothless brought Hiccup a blackberry bush (literally, a whole bush) from the hill behind them. He pushed his rider to eat. Hiccup sucked on some berries. He felt thirsty. The berries helped with that a little bit.

"What is wrong with me?" Hiccup asked himself. His dragon nudged his shoulder gently. Hiccup then realized it was his bad shoulder Toothless was nudging. But, it didn't hurt near as bad as it would have a few days ago.

Hiccup untied his sling and laid the cloth in his lap, holding onto his elbow to take some pressure off. He took in a deep breath, held it, and started guiding his arm back and forth a little bit. There was a dull ache, but nothing horrible.

For another fifteen minutes, Hiccup worked his arm gently. He could stretch it out in front of him, but couldn't put it over his head. It was hurting too badly at this point. He sighed, and Toothless licked his cheek.

"Getting there, bud," he said. He sighed, then leaned back against his best friend, leaving his arm to relax in his lap.

It was approaching midday, and he was surprised he hadn't heard anyone yelling his name. He assumed they had organized a plan without him present. Figured Spitelout was trying to take over the village, or maybe his mother had given him all control. He was assuming the worst.

"Toothless, what is going on?" he asked him. The dragon cooed at him. "I mean—this doesn't seem possible. My own WIFE—My mother—not believing me. Why does she think I have gone mad?"

"Maybe you have."

Hiccup jumped at the voice. He barely recognized it. Toothless was up, growling but eased up almost instantly, catching a familiar smell. His teeth retracted back into his gum lines.

"Heather?" Hiccup asked the air. When no reply came, he questioned himself as to whether or not he was going insane again. But, if that was the case, so was Toothless. He had heard the voice, too. He could see it: His mother handing over the Haddock power to the Jorgenson's, naming Snotlout the chief and throwing Hiccup into the stalls until he stopped cracking, then chaining Toothless down in the Dragon Academy. The Night Fury would once again be a feared dragon to Berke because Toothless would literally kill to come to his aide.

"Why am I hearing things?" he asked himself.

"You aren't, Hiccup," said the voice again. This time, Hiccup could tell where it was coming from. He looked towards the deer path, and from over the rocks Heather appeared from the Cove. Her bow was hanging off of her shoulder. She wore a small smile, but concern showed in her emerald eyes. After a moment, she said, "It's nice to see you, Hiccup."

Hiccup looked at her for a moment. Toothless's tail wagged in glee. When Toothless took a step towards her to officially greet her, Hiccup fell to the ground on his knees and began weeping. There in front of him was Heather. Then, the thought occurred to him: Maybe he was hallucinating again. She was approaching him. Her arms instantly went around him from where he sat in a heap on the ground.

He pushed her away, and she lost her balance and fell to the ground herself.

"Don't be afraid," she said to him.

"What is the truth?" he asked her.

"The truth?"

"I keep seeing faces—your's—Dagur's—and Cecil's. My family thinks I am CRAZY! And I am starting to think I am. I mean—you are here right in front of me! I thought—I thought you were taking over the Berzerkers—"

"I was—but—not now," she said.

He was weeping again. His motions were overpowering him. Toothless was trying to comfort him. He glared at Heather for upsetting his rider.

"Toothless—" she sighed. She crawled up closer to Hiccup and put her arms around him again. This time, he didn't push him away. Toothless continued to eye her. "Stop, Toothless."

Hiccup tried to compose himself. "Heather—"

"I am sorry," Heather said to him.

"Why don't they believe me?" Hiccup asked her. "I keep seeing these faces—reliving the abuse. They are starting to not understand or believe me—And it was—When I said I saw you there—but—"

"Hiccup—"

"You were here the other day—"

"Hiccup," Heather said. She sighed. "Let's go back—together. I'll tell them. You aren't crazy. And you aren't seeing things. To be honest, I was surprised Valka didn't jump me when I came to the door the other day to talk to her about what happened."

Hiccup took in a deep breath and exhaled. "Yes—why didn't—"

"Because—Cecil—" Heather said. Hiccup looked at her long and hard for a moment. She had to break eye contact. "I went to your house the other day. I wanted to tell your mom everything that had happened. She seemed—worried. More worried than I had expected."

"How did you get through the patrol I placed out?" Hiccup asked her. "I placed that out a few days after I arrived back. It's been extra heavy—"

"I know," Heather laughed. "Hunting for food has been hard because of that. Hunting at night has been the easiest—"

"How—"

She sighed at him again. "Hiccup, we didn't break through the patrol. Trust me, you have no holes. I've already looked." She paused again. "Hiccup, we have been at Berke since the night you arrived."

Hiccup glared at her. "What?"

She swallowed, and wiped her sweaty hands on her pants. Biting her lip, she spoke to him.

"When you were placed into the boat, Cecil and I pushed you out to sea. It wasn't but a few hours later we came back looking for you and Toothless in the boat. We tied a rope around the mast, and Windsheer pulled us to Berke."

After a moment, Heather spoke again.

"You weren't in that boat for days, Hiccup. Your family only assumes so. You were only in that boat for a full day before we reached Berke. The plan was to get your back to Berke and let Toothless guide everyone down to the docks to retrieve you so that we could go into hiding for a little while. We towed you into Berke. Well, when the storm approached, we started sending out SOS signals. Lightning struck the mast in the middle of the storm. We were separated from you. When we managed to find you, Valka and Astrid were already with you. Toothless had continued the signals with our absence."

Suddenly, Hiccup remembered screams in the lightning storm. At first, he remembered hearing Astrid's but then the lightning, and Heather's. He remembered Toothless keeping him wrapped up and protected from the sun and the rain. He remembered the taste of the cider Heather had been trickling down his throat.

"So—you've been hiding in the Cove all this time?"

"Yes," she replied. We didn't want Dagur to track us down here. We thought if we stayed hidden we would be keeping the island safe for some time. We wanted you well before we told you what was taking place. When you put everyone on patrol, we never came out. I've snuck food from the Great Hall when it was getting harder to hunt. For the most part we have stayed in the cave in the Cove."

"Heather—it has been a month since I've been home," he said gently to her. "Do you know anything about Dagur coming here?"

"No," Heather said.

"You were supposed to be with the Berzerkers—"

"When I heard Dagur had you, I went to Outcast Island. With me being his sister—he trusts a little too easily," she said. "I cornered Cecil one night on his break and asked him if he would help me. He agreed almost immediatly."

"Heather, you could have come forward the same night, verses hiding. I don't get it—why—"

"She has been hiding as a favor to me."

Hiccup looked behind Heather and saw Cecil standing there looking down upon them. He was just as Hiccup kept seeing in his dreams.

"Glad to finally see you better, my friend," he said after a moment.

Hiccup stood up and walked over to the man. He cradled his arm against his chest, holding the sling in his hand. It appeared as though Cecil had a bruised eye at one time. His arm was bandaged, but other than that there looked to be no other harm done to him.

"I've been asking Heather to not compromise our location. I left this island on horrible terms. I am sure Spitelout would have my head if he saw me." He chuckled to himself. "If Dagur knew I was here, your village would be in jeopardy. And if your village knew I was here, my life probably would be as well."

"Everyone thinks I am crazy," Hiccup said to him.

Cecil sighed, and reached a hand up to Hiccup. "Well, how about we change that?" he asked.

Hiccup looked down at his hand for a moment. He sighed. "Cecil, I am eternally greatful for you saving my life. Can I ask you something?"

"Of course," he said gently. He awkwardly put his hand back down.

"Why did you try to kill my mom years ago?" he asked. Hiccup didn't hesitate. And Cecil's expression did not change.

"Well, lad. I was going through a really dark time myself—" Cecil looked over at Heather. "Much like you right now—I was angry. I was—brainwashed is a strong word for it—Ummmm, how about we say—mislead by Drago. I was out hunting dragons and your mother set them free while I slept on my boat. Lost two really beautiful Nightfuries to her—"

"Night furies?!" Hiccup cried out.

"Yes," he said. "Now, I am glad she stopped me. This was when you would have been a baby, Hiccup."

Hiccup nodded.

"When I caught her trying to sneak back to Cloudjumper—well—I—" He paused. "Please understand I am not proud of it. Your grandfather welcomed me into his home as a child. And going after your mother was the wrong thing to do, but at the time—I was only thinking of Drago."

"Did he brand you—like he did Eret?" Hiccup asked.

Cecil cringed when he said that. "No. I was one of his top dragon hunters fifteen years ago. Slowly, my conscious got the best of me. I went into hiding among the pirates. I never gave details where I was from, or who I knew. I would change my appearance, shave my head bare and grow it back out. When I saw your mother ride off on Cloudjumper years ago, it made me wonder if she had been right all along—that dragons could actually coincide with us humans." Cecil smiled. "You both are living proof it is possible."

Hiccup nodded. He took in a deep breath and let it out.

"Lad, you are not crazy," Cecil said to him. "And if you want, we can tell your family. I have a condition, though."

"What is that?" Hiccup asked.

"Once we do, help me train a dragon—"

"For what?" Hiccup asked him.

"I need protection—someone to watch my back for me. Dagur has a lot of allies, despite how deranged he really might be. I need not only protection but also a friend."

"You are planning on running away, aren't you?" asked Hiccup.

Cecil sighed. "I need to. I cannot go back to Outcast Island. And I know I cannot remain here."

"If Alvin comes back, you should be safe," said Hiccup.

"I'm not quite sure he is coming back, lad. And—forgive me—I know I cannot stay here."

Hiccup sighed. "May I give it some thought?"

Cecil looked at him with a scowl. "Why do you have to think about it?"

Hiccup gave him a sharp look. "Because I want you here, where you belong. You shouldn't have to run anymore, Cecil. I will stand up for you. The past is the past."

"My chief, the past follows you wherever old company crosses your path. Here, tensions will begin. I promise. You don't want me here among everyone. If you train a dragon with me I will be on my way—"

"I hate to tell you this, Cecil, but you are in on our fight. You kept a young chief alive despite what Dagur put him through. You assured he got back to his home safe and sound making sure two of the best healers were taking care of him. Because of you, he survives. And thanks to you, he will defend your name to his village. You can count on that."

Cecil bit the inside of his lip. "That isn't what I had in mind."

"Well, when I arrived at Outcast Island I didn't have it in my mind to get ambushed. Please, Cecil, let me try to help you adjust here. Once the battle is over, if you wish to leave, I will allow it."

"Holding me captive now, eh, chief?" Cecil asked.

Hiccup smiled, genuinely smiled. "No, but something you are going to learn about me. I am as stubborn as my mother and father combined."

Cecil rolled his eyes. "Valka was quite stubborn. And Stoick—"

"He was stoic," Hiccup replied. He held his hand out to Cecil. "Do we have a deal?"

Cecil looked down at Hiccup's hand. After a moment, he reached out and shook it.

"A deal it is, Hiccup Haddock. Now, to convince your mother and the village to allow me to stay. That'll be the kicker there."

Hiccup nodded, and suddenly a wave of anxiety overtook him again. Would they believe him, or lock him away. He didn't know. Scratching the back of his head, he turned to Heather. "Heather, I am going to need your assistance in telling my wife and mother—"

"We will prove you aren't crazy, Hiccup," she said with a smile. "And after we do, can I please have something decent to eat?"

Hiccup nodded. "Fishlegs will be happy to see you."

 **I am not sure how much I would believe if I was a reader that Heather and Cecil pulled Hiccup back. I actually didn't come up with this until the last chapter. I wanted to throw Trader Yohann into this, but….well….I won't.**


	14. Chapter 14

**Soooo, due to the negative responses I received from my last two updates, I removed them. I honestly was not a fan myself but felt that everyone wanted the story to be drawn more towards Astrid being pregnant. I honestly did not mean for this story to be so dark. We all make mistakes and do not intend to run stories certain direction before they do...sometimes the directions are good, sometimes they are not. I do like the idea of Valka and Cecil fighting though. I think in my head that the situation is more escalated than I related in the stories. So, let me take another direction and see where this goes. If it goes into the direction everyone seems to dislike YET AGAIN, I will probably hand this one up for a while.**

 **Here we go!**

Hiccup stood in between Valka and Cecil at the doorway at as the sun was setting. Her staff was drawn up, ready for a one-on-one combat.

"Hiccup, stand aside," Valka stated.

"No, Mom. Let it go."

"He tried to murder me with his bare hands," she said to Hiccup, not taking her eyes off of Cecil.

"Listen, I get that you are angry," Hiccup said. He placed his hand on the staff, but Valka didn't lower it. "But, can you please putt that aside? It has been 20 years since that happened. People change. You should know that."

"Not this one," Valka said.

"Oh for Thor's sake, Valka!" Gobber yelled. "He's here, he has been 'ere for a month now. Put it down."

Heather sighed behind Cecil, crossing her arms. "Now I see why we hid in the woods the last month."

"And how you both went undetected surprises me!" Valka said.

"Mom, just stop-" This time it was not Hiccup that spoke. It was Astrid. She was standing up in the loft. Her arms were crossed in front of her. Hiccup could tell she was uncomfortable. Anytime those arms crossed in front of herself, hugging herself, she was nervous.

"Let Cecil inside," Astrid said.

Valka turned back to Cecil. The man never drew a weapon, even though it was clear that he carried a knife on his right ankle. Valka could see the outline of it on his pant leg. The only thing Cecil did was lower his hood when he entered the thresh hold of the doorway. A moment went by, and Valka lowered her weapon. She backed up to her seat at the table, but never took her eye off of Cecil as she did so. It was obvious she didn't trust him.

Astrid came down the stairs slowly. Heather approached and gave her a quick hug.

"Everything Hiccup said-it was true?" Astrid whispered.

"It was," Heather said to her. She gave her a quick squeeze. "He isn't dreaming some of this up."

"We will talk later," Astrid said to her quietly. When they let go of their embrace they realized Hiccup and Cecil had taken a seat at the table with Gobber.

...

Once the village lights were put out for the evening, Astrid met Heather in The Great Hall. Only a few people remained there taking part in a late dinner. They sipped on some warm tea with peppermint and talked.

"Hiccup's had these horrible nightmares since he came home," Astrid said to Heather. "About Dagur. About Cecil. The most current one was last night and you were in it. But, up until the night he escaped, he never saw you."

"He didn't. Cecil gave me updates on Hiccup's condition in passing. We formulated a plan of escape. The plan was for me to tie Cecil up, play as though I was the only one who kidnapped him. I was going to hide Windsheer away, but once the opportunity was right Cecil was going to bring Windsheer to me. He wanted it to look like I had taken Hiccup and rescued him, keeping Cecil in Dagur's eyes as a loyal servant for a little while."

Astrid sighed. "But, that didn't happen."

"No. Cecil did all he could to protect Hiccup and make him comfortable. Astrid, you should have seen the worry and concern on his face when he was taking care of him. His worry and wanting to keep Hiccup out of pain is what fumbled our plan of escape. He waited until Dagur grew so impatient that we were caught."

After a moment of silence, Astrid bit the inside of her lip and said, "I need to go apologize to Hiccup. I know he felt alone when Valka and I didn't come after him. I didn't know how to help him, and thought there was nothing I could do to help him at this point. My thoughts were everywhere-"

"I get it, Astrid," Heather said. "I felt bad you and Valka had to find him like that when we got separated."

"He's getting better now," Astrid said. "I think we are officially on the upswing with him." She reached acrossed the table and took Heather's hand and gave it a squeeze. "Thank you for helping Cecil get him back home."

Heather gave her hand a small squeeze in return. "More than welcome."

...

Astrid returned home alone. Heather had made arrangements to stay the evening with Gothi. Cecil, on the other hand, was over at Gobber's. Valka wanted a sharp eye kept on him, and not inside her home.

She took in a breath before she opened the door to the bedroom. To her surprise, a few candles were lit, and Hiccup was working at his desk. It appeared as though he had gotten a hold of some paperwork that Valka or Gobber had been helping to handle while Hiccup wasn't in any shape to deal with them. The stack was large, but she could see he had cut it up into sections to work on.

He acknowledged her a moment later after he made a note on a piece of parchment. He gave her a small smile. A moment later, he moved the parchment aside and proceeded towards where she sat on the edge of their bed. She looked up at him as he did. She held back a fear tears. He reached for her hand, pulled her to her feet, and held her close to him.

Gently, he wrapped one arm around her waste, and moved a hand into his own. He kissed her cheek gently, and began to hum slowly a favorite song that he held near and dear to his heart over the last two years. Gently, he moved with her.

"I'll swim and sale on savage seas

With never a fear of drowning

And gladly ride the waves of life

If you would marry me

No scorching sun nor freezing cold

Will stop me on my journey

If you will promise me in your heart

And love

and love me for eternity

My dearest one, my darling dear

Your might words astound me

But I've no need for your mighty deeds

When I feel your arms around me

But I would bring you rings of gold

I'd even sing you poetry

and I would keep you from all harm

If you would stay beside me

I have no use for rings of gold

I care not for your poetry

I only want your hand to hold

I only want you near me

To love and kiss to sweetly hold

For the dancing and the dreaming

Through all life's sorrows

And delights

I'll keep your laugh inside me

I'll swim and sail a savage seas

With never a fear of drowning

I'd gladly ride the waves so white

And you will marry me

(****I do not own this song. This song was in How to Train your Dragon 2. It is owned by it's original writer and/or Dreamworks. They receive all credit.)

Astrid sniffed slightly and laid her head against Hiccup's shoulder.

"I'm sorry," she said to him quietly.

"No reason to be, milady," he said gently to her. "Honestly, Astrid, I don't know if I would have believe myself in your feet."

"I pushed you away this morning," she said to him. "I cannot tell you how sorry I am. The loneliness you must have felt-or still feel!"

"Shhhhh," Hiccup said, pulled her head back to his shoulder. He held her closer. "I love you, Astrid. I was angry, but I am not anymore. I promise I am not angry at all."

"You have every right to be-"

He led her to their bed and sat her down. Once again, he held her close. "If that is true, I am not. I'm still a little confused. I still do not have all the answers. What I do know, is we are both here, everyone we hold dear to our hearts is alive and well. And-we know I wasn't completely losing my mind." He chucked to himself slightly. He wiped a few of her tears away with his thumb, and kissed her cheek. "No, milady, how about we get some much needed shut eye. We are going to need some rest if we plan on taking over patrol tomorrow."

"Promise me you won't over do it?" she asked him. He avoided eye contact at this point. She knew he had a lot of ideas running through his head. "Hiccup, the last thing we need is for your to overdo it and get hurt again."

"Astrid, you can't shelter me forever, he said to her. Eventually, I need to break free and get back out there. I promise, though, if I start feeling overwhelmed I will come back home. I'm sure you will be right beside me."

She gave him a smile. "Of course."

"Good," he replied. "Now, lets get some sleep."

Without leaving their bed, they curled up together, holding each other close. While they settled, Toothless gently breathed on the candles to put them out, bringing darkness back into the room for the evening. He then warmed up his slab of rock, curled up and went to sleep himself.

...

When Cecil woke up the next morning, Gobber was already sitting at his kitchen table with a bowl of pour-age. Gobber had also made another bowl just for Cecil and had set it down acrossed the table.

"Morning," Cecil said to Gobber. He felt his movements being studied carefully as he took a seat. Gobber didn't bother to say hello to him. "Thank you for breakfast."

"Well, it's common rule to feed our guests in the morning-whether we want to or not."

It was plain to see Gobber was only having Cecil stay with him out of Hiccup's request. He knew he would not be welcomed with open arms on the island. This came as no surprise.

"I'm sorry if I am an inconvenience to you," Cecil said gently. He made eye contact with Gobber. "I don't mind staying in the Cove."

"I wouldn' 'ear the end of it from the chief," Gobber said. "Besides, I need to keep my eye on you. Thor knows you won't go venturing out alone-not here."

"I'm sure Spitelout would have my head," Cecil said to him. He took a small bite of his hot pour-age. "I have already told Hiccup this myself."

"Hiccup has been-how would you say-protected when the subject comes t'you," Gobber said to him.

"However he has knowledge that I "nearly murdered his mother with my bare hands-'"

"The only reason tha' information was shared to 'im is because he couldn' understand the hatred his mother has for you."

"Yet, he still remains trustworthy to me," said Cecil. He took another bite of his pour-age. "Gobber, humor me for a moment. But, Eret lives here and is accepted on this island despite his past. He and I crossed paths when we were both in the dragon hunting business-in fact, I started Eret's training before I left them. He's accepted here-Astrid ran to him when Hiccup was stranded in the storm. Clearly he has proven people change. What is so wrong about you putting matters aside and accepting me?"

"Eret earned our trust," Gobber said. "Tha' is something you need to earn as well."

"I saved the boy-"

"You saved our chief," Gobber corrected him. "So Hiccup claims."

"Heather trusts me. And she is a close friend to Hiccup."

Gobber sighed. He was getting testy. "Tha' may be the case, Cecil. But, there are mult'ple other accounts you've done to villagers on this island. In fact, I still recall the day ye' nearly cut m' only remaining arm off-"

"That was years ago-"

"You attacked Stoick's father-"

"The man threatened to remove me from the island without anything to help me survive-"

"He threatened you because you were stealing the only trading gold the island had piece by piece-"

Cecil put both hands into the air. He let out a breath. "Gobber, there is no use for me to defend myself. I haven't set a toe on this island in nearly twenty-five years. I was an angry man, who lost his parents as a boy in a dragon raid. I was on a bad path in life. Over the years, I have made mistakes. Ones I regret, and ones I do not. Please do not make me regret saving Hiccup-Because I do not."

"Cecil, all I can say is tha' you need to prove yourself a true Hooligan again befo' anyone here will accept you back."

"I do not want to stay here forever," Cecil said to him. "I want to make sure Dagur is finished, and make sure Hiccup lives through it. After that, I ask to be on my way."

Gobber chuckled. "If any villager realizes you are here, ye' know they would 'ave your head."

Cecil rubbed his face in frustration. He took in a deep breath and sighed.

"I won't continue arguing with you, Gobber. I know I almost took your arm-" Cecil was counting off his treacherous acts on his fingers. "-I know I attacked Stoick's father-I know I stole metal from you before I fled the island-I know I ruined Spitelout's wedding-I set fire to the woods as a boy on purpose, and we nearly starved in the winter because of it-And I know I nearly killed Valka twenty years ago-WITH MY BARE HANDS-" Cecil sighed. "I know I have done wrong, Gobber. For once, I wanted to do something right."

Gobber was taken aback suddenly. Cecil sighed. He pulled his hood up over his head, and reached to the bread bowl and cut himself off a slice. "Thank you for breakfast." He bowed his head for a moment. "Forgive me, but the sun is close to rising, and I would feel better if I could remain at the Cove. Please let Hiccup Haddock for me that is where I will be staying."

With that, Cecil departed through Gobber's door and headed for the Cove, leaving Gobber in a small state of shock. Had he really changed?

 **I admit, earlier today I was at a church event and I had read some of the reviews. I was upset that I had disappointed my readers with my two updates yesterday. So, instead of completely giving up, despite a 13 hour day of work and a church function I was helping with, I came home and wrote this. All I want to say is Thank You for driving me to try to improve. I am very happy with how this chapter turned out. And now instead of hitting a road block, I have another chapter idea in mind. But before I start that, I WANT to hear what you all think!**


	15. Chapter 15

Hiccup awoke the next morning right as the sun was coming up. He hadn't slept well, but the sweet smell of Astrid's hair made him smile. He felt the warmth of her skin against his under their blankets. She seemed to have slept well because she didn't move most of the night, and he spent half the night trying to keep still for her sake.

He'd been up most of the night because he couldn't contain his excitement. He was going out riding again today. Back on Toothless. His buddy had been so patient over the last weeks with his recovery. Normally Toothless would have been going absolutely stir crazy. But with the situation he seemed to have kept himself contained.

Hiccup moved slowly so Astrid didn't wake. He groaned as the heaviness of her head moved across his stiff shoulder. Covering her back up with their blankets, he made his way towards the door. Sure enough, he heard the sound of a tail dragging the floor.

"Shhhhh-" he said to Toothless as they headed down the stairs. He made himself some bread and butter, then headed out the back door.

There, he stretched his shoulder and ate his slice of bread. Toothless sat obediently waiting for the last bite.

"Ready for today, bud?" he asked Toothless quietly. The dragon wagged his tail with glee. "I am, too." He winced as he felt his shoulder pop slightly, but it didn't pop out of place. He could hear the ball and joint rotate as he moved it. Slowly, he increased his movement.

Just as Hiccup felt his shoulder loosening up better, he saw movement in the corner of his eye. He recognized Cecil heading into the woods a ways down, hitting an old deer path. Hiccup narrowed his eyes in thought. No one was following Cecil. Hiccup felt slightly torn as to whether or not to follow him or stay behind.

As he was about to get up and head for the woods to follow, he heard the front door shut inside the house. He could tell by the sound of the stride it was Gobber who had entered the house. One pegleg and a boot. He had left the back door cracked open, and he could hear Gobber talking to his mother. She apparently had woken up after he had gone outside.

"Valka, I don' know wha' t'do," Gobber said to her.

"What do you mean?" Valka asked him.

"With Cecil-he headed into the woods-"

"WHY would you allow him to?" Valka asked.

"Well, for starters, I ain' about to chase after the brute. And secondly, he's different. He's-calmer, if that makes sense."

Valka's kettle inside had gone off. Hiccup strained his hear closer to the small opening to hear more of what Gobber and she were saying. He wished he was a fly on the wall at this point in time. He could barely hear them.

"Age makes us calmer, Gobber," Valka said. "That doesn't make him any less of a thief, a murderer-"

"Valka, I had my guard up with 'im as well," Gobber said. "He's-he seems so sincere about the past. Ye' know how he would storm out when he would be accused of stealin' sheep as a boy, or tying up Spitelout in the woods for two days before anyone found him? Or-"

"I get it Gobber," Valka said. "But-a person that evil cannot change."

"Valka-He did have a point," Gobber said. "He TRAINED Eret with Drago's men. He taught Eret the basics of dragon hunting. He made a valid point-we accepted Eret int' the Hooligan tribe-"

"Eret was different," Valka said. "Eret helped us against Drago in the end."

"And you don' think he's tryin' to help us now?"

"I don't," Valka said sternly. "I believe he's up to something-something Dagur has been working on-I think he's one of his spies-"

Hiccup sighed. His mother was continuing to be stubborn with the idea of entertaining the thought that Cecil was good. At this point, he knew it would take some time for her to come around. Heck, his father finally came around to the idea of dragons. Even dragons working with them on the island. Stoick had softened five years before his death. Without Toothless and the events leading up to Hiccup losing his leg, he didn't think he and his father would ever have a good relationship. Thankfully, the last five years was the best relationship they'd had. Hiccup was very grateful for that today.

"Valka, I am not sayin' to we'come him with open arms the next time he comes knocking on th'door, but consider the idea he might be on our side and not using Hiccup to allow Dagur to move closer in-"

"Gobber-I will not," Valka said. "I don't have you on my side anymore."

Hiccup sighed. He was going to have to let his mother cool down. Maybe realize Cecil was good. Hiccup knew it. He thought he would be living proof, but in his mother's eyes, Cecil was a worn enemy. He would have to find a way to change that. Somehow, he would find a way.

...

"There you guys are." Hiccup greeted the twins as they landed back onto the island.

"You act like we haven't been doing ANYTHING!" Ruffnut moaned. She yawned and fell against the head of Barf. "While you've been sleeping the last month we've been doing patrol."

"YOU weren't the one torchered by Dagur, you mutten-h-"

Hiccup reached up and pulled Astrid back to him. She was about to climb the Zippleback to ring Ruffnut's neck.

"I know you are tired, Ruff-"

"And hungry-" Tuffnut said.

"And we've lost soooo much boar pit digging-"

"I TOLD you guys NOT to put a boar pit on Berk!" Hiccup said. He sighed, trying to keep calm. "What would you guys do if we had a stampede of them come through town and they hurt someone." Hiccup slapped himself in the face, and let out a sigh. "Look-you guys go home and sleep a few hours, then you guys are going to move those boars off the island." He crossed his arms. "Exactly how many boars are we talking about?"

"Does it matter now?!" Ruffnut said. "They won't be here come sunset."

"Good," said Hiccup. "Now, you both go home and get some rest." He looked at the Zippleback and took some sympathy to the dragon. By appearance it looked like it was about to deflate.

Heather laughed as the twins and the dragon went off to rest.

"What is so funny?" Astrid asked her.

"Well, lets just say that the twins are missing about half a dozen of their boars right now," she replied. "Don't worry, Hiccup. There really wasn't that many."

"Just imagine if a little kid fell into it!" he moaned. He rubbed his forehead with his thumb and two fingers in frustration. "Oh, those two-" He suddenly felt a push from behind himself, and he had to catch his footing. He turned around and sighed, giving his partner a small smile. Toothless was ready to go. He was growing inpatient and scowling at his rider. "Okay, Toothless. Point made, bud."

"Hiccup, promise me you'll be careful," Astrid said.

"No worries," he replied to her. He took her hand and pulled her closer. He kissed her cheek.

"I'll be close by," Eret said to Astrid, placing a hand on Hiccup's good shoulder.

Toothless nudged his rider again, this time not as gently as before. Astrid had to catch them both from falling over. It wasn't a moment later, Hiccup was in the sky with Toothless, their excitement could be heard.

"You can't protect him forever, Astrid," Eret said to her gently, sitting on top of Skullcrusher. "He's a grown man, a chief, and of all things-stubborn."

"I know," she said. She had her arms crossed and wrapped around herself. "Please make sure he doesn't hurt himself."

Eret laughed. "Like I did such a good job last time he went riding."

"I wouldn't want anyone else up there with him," Astrid said to Eret.

...

With the wind in his face, Hiccup finally felt whole again. While Eret kept watch, Hiccup tried a few different moves to make sure the saddle was completely broken in. There was one move he was dying to try. He stood up on Toothless and took in a deep breath.

"Okay, bud, you ready?"

Toothless nodded but Hiccup could see the worry on his face.

"It'll be fine," Hiccup said gently. He took in a deep breath, he closed his eyes, walked to the end of Hiccup's nose and took his step off of his dragon. He didn't feel the rush of falling. No wind, no sinking feeling in his gut that he loved. He opened his eyes, and realized Eret had a hold of the bottom of his feet. He had flown in under Toothless and caught the bottom of his feet just as Hiccup was ready to fall.

"Forget it, Hiccup."

"Eret-"

"Your wife will kill me," he said to him. He motioned for Toothless to move forward and Hiccup hopped back over onto his dragon. "She's still worried about you, you know that."

"I'm fine!"

"Hiccup, we all know you say that even when you aren't," Eret said. "Please-mate. Take it easy for a few days. Let your shoulder loosen up some. You'll be sky diving in no time. But for right now-"

"Okay, Eret," Hiccup breathed, putting his head down. Frustration was not hidden on his face. Toothless cooed at him gently.

After a few moments of silence, Eret pulled a canteen out of his saddle bag and offered Hiccup a drink. Hiccup hadn't realized how thirsty he was until Eret had offered him a drink. He took a small drink, and the memory of Cecil helping him drink some cider came back to him. He had been weak and achy. He remembered the pain Dagur caused him when he dislocated his shoulder. He winced slightly.

"You okay?" Eret asked him.

Hiccup nodded, biting his lip slightly. His mind got to wondering.

"Eret, Cecil made mention of you last night-"

Hiccup saw Eret's eyes turn to slight panic, and his broad shoulders tensed up at the mentioning of Cecil. Hiccup wondered if this would be another fight just like he was having with his mother.

"Can-you tell me how he was before?" Hiccup asked quietly.

Eret contemplated his words for a moment. He rubbed the side of Skullcrusher, and even looked over at Toothless for a moment. He took in a deep breath.

"I'm not proud of it," Eret said. "Granted, I didn't know any better. Honestly, it was in my blood to hunt and kill dragons. If my father could see me today, he probably wouldn't be real proud of me." He let out a sigh. "Being with Drago-it puts you in a dark place. I remember the darkness consuming me with each day we hunted and-killed dragons. If I went soft-well, that's how I ended up being branded-"

Hiccup could see Eret's emotions fighting to escape his body. Hiccup went to tell Eret he didn't have to tell him, but his friend continued.

"When I was of age, and my father was injured during a raid, Drago came to our home. My mother tried to tuck myself and my sister away from Drago. She hid us in a hideaway in the closet of our home when she heard the knock on the door. Drago had come to check-in on us. He was waiting for my father to come back to hunt. When he didn't show up after two weeks of being gone, he came looking for him. When he realized my father was still injured, and it was obvious he would not be returning-Drago grew angry."

"Eret-"

"No, Hiccup." Eret said. "When he went to catch the house on fire, that was when I intervened. I didn't want him hurting my family. When I pushed him to the floor, he took one look at me, laughed, and turned to my father. He allowed my father to retire with the understanding that I would be working for him instead. My father didn't want to let me go-but, he was in no shape or form to go back out. I left my family and went to Drago's island to work in my father's place. I was fifteen years old. And Cecil took me and started to train me."

Hiccup waited for Eret to continue. No one had heard Eret's life before. All they knew was that he was named after his father, and was very proud of that. He never mentioned his family, nor asked anyone to journey with him to visit. Everyone assumed Eret only had the dragon hunters. All this time, their assumptions had been right.

"Cecil trained me that first year," Eret said. "He told me to always be on alert. He showed me how to trick dragons and swipe their eggs. He showed me how to hatch them, raise them from birth to do as they were asked." He sat quietly for another moment. "He taught me how to kill."

Hiccup felt goosebumps going up his arms. He felt nauseated suddenly. He had been trusting this man, had welcomed him onto the island, placed him in with his loved ones, and here Eret was telling him how he had killed and stolen young from their nests.

"Hiccup-Cecil showed me how to survive with Drago. I was a prisoner, allowed to run free as long as I came back with dragons. If I returned with little to none, Drago was not forgiving. I am blessed in the event that I came back with one mark on my chest. But, had it not been for Cecil, I probably would have at least half a dozen on my body."

Hiccup looked over at Eret, surprised by his words.

"Cecil helped me survive. I wanted to go back home to my family, but he told me if I did, Drago would know where to find me." His head lowered. "Little did I know, shortly after I came to work for Drago, my village was destroyed. It was because my father sold his soul to Drago in an exchange for some money to keep his family alive. Even though I came to work for Drago, he destroyed my family and the village. In the end, I had only bought them some time."

Hiccup felt himself shaking with angry and sympathy. He suddenly felt cold in the bright sun, and felt as though a darkness had surrounded him. Toothless cooed at him gently, but this only made Hiccup feel slightly better.

"Do you trust Cecil, Eret?" Hiccup asked him.

Eret sighed. "He was kind to me, the little time I knew him. He had eluded Drago somehow. He left to collect some dragon eggs from Trader Yohan. And then vanished. In Drago's world, I trust him there. But, that's a completely different side, Hiccup."

"Did he ever tell you about his life on Berke?"

Eret sighed. "He told me about how his family had been killed in a dragon raid, how a family had taken him in and raised him. How the older he grew, the more angry he became. I think he was trying to keep me from becoming angry at the world. I think he knew what was going to happen to my village, and he shielded me from it. Multiple times he stopped me from going back home, convincing me to stay. Told me I was safest there, whether I believed it or not." Eret waited a moment and was lost in thought. "To be honest, Hiccup, I think he stayed with Drago long enough to keep me alive, and then he left, knowing I was strong enough to make it through on my own with Drago as my chief."

"My mother refuses to believe that there is good in Cecil. I think if he wanted me dead, he had the chance. But...Mom thinks he's playing for both sides." Hiccup sighed. "At this point, I do not know what to do."

"I changed, Hiccup," Eret said. "And I worked for Drago. And you all accept me here."

"And that has been brought up," said Hiccup. "I hope your ears weren't burning."

Eret shook his head. "I get it." He looked over at Hiccup. "Only time will tell whether Cecil is good or not, Hiccup. If he is on our side, he is, and your mother will eventually see that. If he isn't, shame on him for fooling us. Reserve your judgment right now. That is what I would recommend."

"I think most everyone else is at this point," Hiccup said. "Aside from Heather."

"For right now, I am reserving mine," Eret replied. "As I said, I trust him there. Here, I am a little iffy. But, people change. Time will tell."

Hiccup nodded. "Time will tell."

 **This went into a completely different direction than I intended. I have been wondering about Eret's story for some time. Every time I watch HTTYD2 all we know about Eret is that "I am Eret, son of Eret." That line always made me think he was proud of his father. In writing this, I created my own back story of Eret. I love Eret's character.**

 **I had actually wanted him to give Hiccup some back story on how Cecil was as a human being years ago, to see if he really had changed over the years that Valka describes him, but I only touched a little bit on that part. I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter.**


	16. Chapter 16

Astrid remained on top of Stormfly watching all around her. The patrol was quite boring. But, she knew that was a good thing. For the most part she was alone. Heather was about half a mile away, watching on Windsheer. They knew if there was trouble they could count on each other.

She took in a deep breath and let her exhaustion escape. A few days ago she was vomiting and achy all over. Today, those symptoms seemed almost non-existent. Other than the mild headache she had, she felt much better. Now that Hiccup was home and up and moving independently, and his mind seemed to be back in the right place, her worry was minimal.

"Astrid, would you like an apple?" Heather asked her.

She hadn't realized how close Heather was to her and it startled her. She smiled gently and accepted the apple. She was actually hungry. Just then she realized she had not eaten any breakfast.

"You are looking a little thin," Heather said to her gently. "You okay?" She received a nod in reply, and Astrid bit into the apple a few more times. This seemed to satisfy Heather.

"I've been pretty manic over Hiccup," Astrid replied. "I haven't had a scare like I did with him."

"Even when he lost his leg?" Heather asked.

Astrid chuckled. "You know, I've thought about that in all honestly. I mean, he was pretty bad for a few days. But, I was still just a kid then. I wasn't completely grasping what all was going on. Yeah, I felt for him, and I grieved with him when he was in pain and struggling through that recovery. But, I barely knew what life was even at fifteen. I wasn't so-sensitive then." Saying it aloud actually scared her a little bit. "Heather, I was once this might-mini warrior. Now, I'm the chief's wife and all that seems to consume me is worrying over him."

Heather smiled gently. "I think we are just growing up, Astrid. Our lives have changed a lot since we were kids. We are still warriors. I think-you just have a lot more going on than what we did a few years ago. It's starting to get to you. With Hiccup, I was worried about him, too, and my heart ached I couldn't be with you when you found him. I wanted to-but it just didn't work out that way." Heather was quiet for a moment. "I'm sorry I wasn't here when he was recovering. From the sound of things, it seemed kind of bad there for a little while-"

Astrid nodded. "He's functioning now. Since Cecil appeared again, he seems more whole again. I still feel bad I didn't believe him."

"I think Valka kind of made you feel that way."

Astrid sighed. "I don't know what to believe with that whole situation. I mean-Cecil took care of Hiccup but almost murdered Valka years ago. He killed and slaughtered dragons for Drago. But-somehow he still has kindness in him to take care of Hiccup." She turned to Heather. "You trust him, don't you?"

"I do," Heather said. "There was one time in the caves that I nearly took my weapon to his head. I wanted to move Hiccup sooner, but Cecil was worried. I think he genuinely cared for Hiccup's life at the time. He knew he wouldn't do as good of a job as Valka or Gothi-But he feared the ride would kill him. Eventually, he knew he had no choice but to move him to the boat. When we were separated because I had to go after Windsheer and get matters settled there, I could see the concern on his face. He was relieved when we found him safe in the boat. Having him almost take off my head at the caves, us arguing over Hiccup's well-being. It made me trust him. I couldn't help but."

Astrid bit her lip in thought for a moment. If only Valka could hear Heather speak like this. But, she was being stubborn. She chuckled at the thought of her being stubborn. Heather looked at her curiously.

"It's funny," Astrid said. "We always say how stubborn Hiccup is, and Stoick always told me how stubborn Valka was when he would get frustrated with Hiccup over things. They both are just a like."

"Maybe that's why they are having a hard time getting along right now," Heather said gently.

"Valka-she's been trying to help him run the village. Hiccup really wasn't ready to take over when Stoick died. I've found him working late into the night at his desk many times. Instead of it being inventions and ideas like he used to, it's letters from other tribes, to do lists...I kind of miss the old semi-carefree Hiccup. Dragon's Edge was just a small sliver of leadership than what it is here."

"Is he happy, Astrid?" Heather asked.

Astrid shrugged her shoulders. "Most days I think so, but as I said, he is stubborn and hides the truth."

"He's doing a good job here, Astrid."

"What about the Berzerkers?" Astrid asked suddenly. "I just realized you've probably been gone too long!"

"Believe me, they will survive," Heather said. "They survived without me for a long time. I'd rather stay back here and help you guys. This place-I always felt welcomed here."

"And you know you always will be, right?" Astrid asked.

Heather nodded. "Of course."

...

By mid-day a storm had begun to roll in. No lightning had been heard or sighted. Despite Eret's requests to move the patrol to shelter, Hiccup told him no, that he would be staying where he was until it grew too dangerous.

"Hiccup, you do realize your wife and mother risked their lives out in that storm to bring you in that night, right?" Eret said. "You wouldn't be doing them any favors staying out here."

"If Dagur comes-"

"He won't get too far this way in this storm," Eret said. "It doesn't look like it'll be here for long. Come on!"

Hiccup sighed and Toothless cooed, indicating he agreed with Eret. Finally, Hiccup agreed, and led the way back to land.

...

Suddenly, a crack of lighting struck the sky, and Astrid and Stormfly fell out of the sky. Heather dove towards the trees to try to catch Astrid but she was lost inside.

"Astrid!" Heather screamed. She and Windsheer circled, looking for her in the tree tops. Another gust of wind and another lightning bolt crack, Windsheer led herself and her rider to safety in the clearing.

...

"She what!" Hiccup cried.

"She's in the woods," Heather said to him.

Hiccup headed towards the Great Hall doors. Despite the rain, he was going out to look for his wife.

...

Astrid felt achy all over as she regained her consciousness. Despite feeling the weight of a few blankets and the heat from a fire, she felt somewhat cold. She took in a deep breath to try to relax her mind.

"You are awake," she heard a voice say to her. She recognized it right away. Opening her eyes gently, she saw a blurry version of Cecil sitting beside her. He was soaking a rag in a bucket. "Just relax."

"Hiccup-" his name escaped from her throat.

"Once this storm clears I'll get him," Cecil said to her gently. "You fell from the sky."

"Stormfly-"

"Easy," he said to her gently. "She's fine. Couple of bruises but she's okay. I promise."

Astrid went to sit up but a sudden wave of pain hit her temples. She found herself falling back against the makeshift pillow. Her head throbbed violently. She felt nauseated almost instantly, but the pain in her head was dying down. She felt something cold pressed against her forehead. She could tell she had a pretty good sized bump on her head.

"When this storm clears out, I will take you to Hiccup," he said to her. "But-I wouldn't skimp on seeing Gothi on this one. You fell pretty hard." He head a hand above her head and lazily put up two fingers in front of her face. "How many do you see?"

"I think you are holding up two," Astrid breathed. She wouldn't have been surprised if she cracked a few ribs in the process as well.

"You'll be okay," he said to her. "This storm shouldn't be here much longer. It is already dying down. Would you like something to drink?"

Astrid tried to say she did, but she slipped back into unconsciousness again.

...

"Astrid!" Hiccup called for her. In the middle of the woods, just as night was falling, he could barely see anything in front of him. Only his mother and Toothless were with him, looking with him for her. The others he had sent back onto patrol once the storm began to break and no lightning had been sighted for some time.

"Assssstttttt-riiddddddd!" he called again. He half expected to hear Stormfly squawk but he did not.

"We will find her," Valka said to him. "The woods aren't that big."

"What if she's hurt and can't call for help?" Hiccup said to her. He rubbed his shoulder, partly from nerves-and partly because since the weather had cooled off it was feeling rather stiff.

"We will find her," was all Valka said again. Hiccup was growing rather impatient with her again.

After five more minutes, just as it was becoming almost impossible to see in front of their faces, Toothless sensed someone approaching them. He pushed both Hiccup and Valka back behind him, and stood in front of him.

"Toothless-It's probably Astrid," he said to him. But Toothless didn't let Hiccup pass him.

As the shadow approached, Hiccup noticed Toothless ease up a bit. He knew then it was Cecil. He turned to his mother, who had a look of pure discuss on her face. She had reached for large limb to hold for protection.

"Cecil," Hiccup breathed. "Are you are little far from the cave-"

"You need to come quickly," Cecil said to them. "Astrid's hurt."

Instantly, the three of them hurried toward the cave. It was a good ten minute walk back to the cave. Even though Hiccup pushed for an answer from Cecil, he didn't speak. Even Valka didn't speak. Hiccup knew the tension was growing in the silence. He figured neither spoke because they didn't want to fight in front of him or Astrid.

Once at the cave, Hiccup rushed to Astrid's side. Valka could see Astrid had a big bruise and knot forming on her forehead, and a scratch here and there, but other than that she looked okay.

As Valka went to approach them, Cecil stepped in front of her. Immediately she went to strike him, but he grabbed the branch in her hand. He did not pull it from her grasp. He simply held it and glared at her for a second.

"Give them a moment," he said gently. "She's been calling his name in her sleep."

Valka glared at him. "Where exactly did she fall at?"

"I heard her dragon his the trees about thirty yards from here," he replied back. "I recommend Gothi comes to see her." After a few more seconds of keeping eye contact with Valka, Cecil let go of her branch, turned his back, and stepped aside.

Valka glared at him from where she remained standing. She realized she hadn't taken in a breath for a bit when her chest started to hurt. Cecil made her nervous. But she refused to show it to anyone.

After looking over Astrid, and getting her to sit up, they decided to try to get her back to the village. She swayed, and Hiccup wasn't strong enough to carry her back to the village that far. Sitting on Toothless wasn't an easy task for her either. Her head swayed and she said she felt nauseated. Despite Valka's thoughts, Cecil gently carried her back to the village and up the stairs to the bedroom.

"Mom, would you mind getting Gothi?" Hiccup asked her. The main focus of his attention was watching after her. He laid down beside her and pulled the covers up over her. He had gone into protective mode over her.

Before Valka could quickly fire off and speak her mind, Cecil had already headed towards the door. "I'll fetch her." With that he disappeared out the door.

Valka paused for a moment, staring at the empty doorway for a moment. Cecil had left as quickly as he walked into the bedroom and sat Astrid down. Valka let herself release a breath. That was when she realized she had felt like she was walking on eggshells around Cecil. She knew it was obvious she wasn't trusting him. And he didn't seem to care. If he did, he wasn't wearing it on his sleeve...not like he used to.

 **I wasn't expecting to do another update tonight but this had been on my mind for the last three weeks it seems. Trying to merge the gap between Cecil and Valka has been hard. But, I think she's getting there.**


	17. Chapter 17

Gothi had come and gone that night. Other than a bump on the head and probably a few bruised ribs, Astrid was fine. It was recommended that she take it easy for a few days and to come to her if there was any pain. Ultimately it was up to Astrid to gage what she could and could not do.

"Oh, this is going to be interesting," Hiccup said to her jokingly.

"What do you mean?" she asked him.

"You guys were on me about taking it easy. There's no way you can sit still!"

Astrid rolled her eyes. "Thanks for the support, Dragonboy."

Valka shook her head and headed towards the stairs. Both of the kids were safe at home for the evening. And despite a bump on Astrid's head, the evening wouldn't be troublesome like it was with Hiccup.

She paused and lost her breath when she realized: Cecil was sitting at the kitchen table with his back turned to her. He was still in the house! Why, why, WHY?! She assumed he was helping himself to the bread that she left on the table, but as she took another step down the stairs, that was not the case. It was still sitting where she had left it that morning.

As she descended down the stairs, Cecil never turned to look at her. He remained seated at the table, one hand over the other on the table. She wondered why he hadn't just gone back to the cave. It was where he retreated to that morning when he fled Gobber's because he hadn't been comfortable. That was when she noticed he was shaking and still damp from the rain. That's what it was. She wouldn't have ventured back out into the rain just to get even more soaked.

She rolled her eyes at herself at the thought that crossed her mind. Truth be told, if it was Gobber sitting there, she would have warmed him up. She sighed.

Cecil suddenly saw a blanket being placed beside him on the table. He barely moved his eyes. He knew it was Valka who had laid it on the table for him.

"Thank you," he said gently, and he picked it up and wrapped it around himself. He continued to stare at the same nail in the table. He recognized the table: It was the same table he had sat at as a small boy. Valka apparently had brought it over from her parents' home when they passed away for herself and Stoick.

Valka placed a kettle on the fire and started doing her thing around the kitchen. Cecil remained seated, although it was uncomfortable for him. He knew she didn't want him there.

He heard her work around him. The kettle went off, he felt the steam beside him as she poured some of the water. His eyes didn't leave the nail int he table. Not until suddenly her hand sat down a mug that was overflowing with steam in front of him. It surprised him, and he took in a breath.

Cecil didn't pick up the mug right away, and Valka narrowed her eyes at him. "You still take mint in your tea, don't you?"

Cecil finally turned his head and looked at her. They made eye contact. His expression was kind. He gave a weak smile and nodded. He picked up the mug and blew on it gently.

A moment of silence went by again, and he said, "I'm surprised you remembered."

Valka took a seat across the table from Cecil, holding her own mug in both of her hands. "You always had some after dinner."

"Your mom knew just how I liked it," he replied back. He took a small sip, feeling the warmth touch his lips. It was still too hot, but he could tell the tea was good.

Cecil caught a quick glimpse at Valka. Her stance was more relaxed. Her face didn't show any anger or fear.

Suddenly, the door was pushed open and in came Eret. He paused suddenly; the look on his face showed some surprise that both Cecil and Valka were in the same room together without one wanting to kill the other.

"Hello, Eret," Cecil said quietly.

Eret nodded to Cecil and turned to Valka. "I heard Astrid had a fall."

"She did, but she's okay," she said to him. "I am not sure as to what Hiccup wants to do in regards to patrol. Probably wait until the rain blows over to restart tomorrow."

Eret nodded. "I'll take my leave then."

"Wait," Valka said to Eret. "Would-you care to have an evening guest?"

He already knew where this was going. And, he wasn't too happy about it.

...

Eret led Cecil out of the house. His stride was long and swift, and Cecil knew that he was not welcome in the home. When he knew he was out of earshot of the Haddock home, he paused.

Ere noticed he did not have company after a few seconds and he turned around and stared at Cecil in the darkness. As the rain poured over them, all they did was stand there staring at each other for a moment.

"I'm not going to wait around for you to decide if you want to sleep inside a warm home tonight or not," Eret said.

"I can tell I am not welcome," Cecil said. "And I do not want you to feel obligated by the chief's mother to cater to me."

"It's not that you aren't welcome," said Eret.

"Then what does it mean?" asked Cecil.

Eret turned his head away for a moment. "Seeing you brings some bad memories back. That first year-my family-"

"I'm sorry about that," said Cecil.

Eret turned back to him. "I know you knew what he was going to do. I am not stupid, Cecil."

Cecil sighed. "I know you aren't stupid, my friend. I never thought you were. You were young, and you were robbed of your family. I knew what Drago was going to do. I knew once he could get away, he was going after your village. I watched him destroy a building full of chiefs one night. I was there when Stoick nearly died in the fire. I watched your village burn-"

Eret came after Cecil without warning. He pushed him to the ground, to the mud. Eret tried to get at his throat, but Cecil was stronger despite being smaller. He pushed Eret to the ground and held him there, staring into his eyes.

"I tried to save them, Eret! I tried!" Cecil then pushed himself away from Eret, sat down in the mud, and began to weep in the rain. Eret didn't move. He laid in the thick mud, and listened to the man weep. "The day I was supposed to go to see Trader Yohann for those Zippleback eggs, I went to your village. I knew where he was slipping off to. I took my sail and headed that way. When I approached the island, I could see it was already in flames!"

Cecil was genuinely crying. He was having difficulty catching his breath, and he nearly puked as he hyperventilated and tried to catch his breath.

"When-when I got to the shoreline, all I saw was smoke. Very few people survived the flames. Some families got out. Those that did, I let them board my boat and I took them to a neighboring island-where they found safety. I never gave them my name. I never told them where I was from. With two days left to meet Yohann, instead of going east, I headed south. I arrived on a small trading island late one night. I set my boat on fire and I left it to burn. I found shelter in their woods and there I remained for a month before I jumped many ships. I made sure Drago couldn't track me down-"

"He would of killed you," Eret said. "He swore to it."

"I don't doubt that," Cecil said to him.

After a few moments of silence, Eret gathered himself and pushed himself to his feet. He reached for Cecil's hand. Cecil looked at it and turned his head away.

"I don't deserve your friendship," Cecil said.

"What do you deserve then, Cecil?" Eret asked him. "C'mon, let's go get warm. Be my guest. Even if it is just for tonight."

Cecil hesitated, but reached for Eret's hand, and allowed him to help him to his feet. They headed back to Cecil's hut, ready to be warm.

...

"So, you never saw Drago after you left the island?" Eret asked him from across the table.

They had managed to get dried off and warm. Eret gave Cecil some dry clothes to wear. The shirts were nearly falling off of Cecil's shoulders but that was okay. Cecil was thankful for something warm (and clean) to wear for the night.

"No," Cecil said. "But, multiple times, I almost came face to face with a lot of the hunters I used to train." He stirred his tea with his spoon, wishing in the back of his head Eret had some mint he could place into the tea. That was okay, though. Valka's mother was the only person that he'd come across that kept mint on hand for that. "I thought for sure one of them would give me away if they recognized me, but if they did, they never made mention of me. I know if they had told Drago I was alive, he'd of sent a hundred men in all directions looking for me."

"I just don't know how you managed to keep secret all these years," said Eret.

"I don't either. Eventually, I quit sleeping with a weapon in my hand in case someone did approach me."

Eret looked guilty for a moment. He recalled Astrid breaking into the house the night Hiccup had been found in the boat injured.

"Why did you choose to leave when you did?" Eret asked Cecil after a few moments.

The question caused some silence from Cecil's end. The man sighed gently, re-positioned himself in his chair, and he used his pointer fingers to smooth the edges of the mug. He bit the inside of his lip, and looked back at Cecil.

"I had been considering it since he brought you to the island. When your father was injured badly, I was glad he allowed him to go home and be with you and your mother and sister. When he returned with you weeks later, I was furious. I even told him that you were too young to be with us. Me speaking my mind landed me with you to train. He told me if I cared so much than I should watch out over you. If I was ever hard on you-"

Eret placed his hand up to stop him. "I never thought you were too hard on me. I knew you did what you did to keep me alive."

Cecil nodded. "I didn't think he would actually destroy your whole village. I had gone to go warn your family. Tell them you were well, and to leave the island and try to go into hiding. Your father knew what he was capable of. I am sure he worried about you."

"I am as well," said Eret. "You know, I have always been proud to be his son. I remember growing up watching him repair the home, helping my mother with her housework even though he had worked in the fields all day, probably exhausted." Eret's face saddened. "When the crops were all damaged from the late frost, and the island was struggling for food, Drago showed up. He offered gold in exchange for some strong hands to help him. It was only supposed to be for six months. The day he walked in covered in burn scars, my mother begged him not to go back. But, he told her he had no choice. I always thought it was because the crops still weren't good, and we were having issues surviving. Dad always brought home good food, fresh plants, a huge elk or a yak when he came home from raids. I was proud of him for providing for his family."

"He always talked highly of you and your sister."

"Nomi," Eret said to him. "Her name was Nomi."

...

 **If I am avoiding details, I am sorry. I like having these characters tell their stories verses just writing them to you guys. I feel like there has been a lot of dialog. Next few chapters I plan on avoiding that.**

 **What do you guys think of my Cecil/Eret backstory I created? I may actually do more with it in the future. It has been years since I felt the need to write. I used to write my own stories with my own characters all the time until college hit, and I just lost time and interest in writing. I love it! I have a slight anxiety disorder, and writing keeps the worry away. :)**

 **Thanks for following guys!**


	18. Chapter 18

Hiccup snuck out of the house.

Behind him, was Toothless, keeping close.

It was hours before day break, but Hiccup couldn't sleep. His mind kept racing. For the first time since he had come home, and could do something about it, no one was on patrol because of the storm. The thought plagued him, and finally he just couldn't take it any longer.

He had woken up Toothless and slipped out of the house. He was the chief, and the thought crossed his mind as to why in the world he felt like he had to slip out of his own house. The chief, needing to sneak about people!? But, he did to spare his mother and Astrid asking questions. Astrid was sound asleep, but he knew his mother would not be. He didn't want to wake or worry either one of them. Especially Astrid tonight. They slipped out of the skylight, hopped over to the nearest home, slipped down the side of it, and hurried to the very peak of the island. It was Hiccup's absolute favorite spot. There, he could see at least a mile east of the island.

He eyed the darkness that surrounded the island. Shaking in the cold breeze, he took his scope out of his pocket, and looked around out to sea.

"Nothing, bud," he said quietly. "That's good at least."

Toothless looked at him with his green eyes. Hiccup was relieved he didn't seem on edge. Toothless usually knew when something bad was coming, giving them plenty of warning. He seemed easy going, and a little annoyed they were out of bed. He simply rolled his eyes at Hiccup and sighed.

"Oh, come on," Hiccup said. "What's wrong?"

Toothless plopped himself on the ground and curled his tail over his face.

"You aren't mad I got you out of bed, are you?" Hiccup asked him.

Toothless curled his tail tighter around himself.

"You ARE upset!" Hiccup said to him, chuckling a little bit. He sat down next to Toothless and rubbed his head. "You used to love to get out and fly at night. You are a NIGHT Fury after all. What happened?"

The black dragon just blew raspberries.

Hiccup shook his head at the dragon. "You are turning into a grump."

His dragon lifted his head up in discuss, giving him a narrowing eye.

"No, I am not crazy, Toothless," said Hiccup. "Tonight-you are a grump."

Toothless then placed his tail over Hiccup and let the weight of it fall on top of his rider. When Hiccup collapsed to the ground from the weight, he chuckled to himself. His rider pushed the tail off of him, took his spy glass and threw it into the back of Toothless's head.

"You are lucky that didn't just knock my shoulder back out," Hiccup said.

Toothless gave him another glare, then snorted.

Hiccup dropped the subject after that, and stared off into the ocean. He sat there, looking out, lost in thought.

He had overheard his mother send Cecil with Eret. Knowing what Eret had told him earlier that day, he wondered if that was wise to send them together. Only Hiccup knew Eret's secret he had been hiding. He had intended to keep it that way as well. It wasn't his secret to tell. Astrid wouldn't even know. She seemed to sense (just like Hiccup) that Eret wanted to keep his past to himself. Which was fine. Heather did that for a while before they were able to get it out of her. Only reason they had was because they were worried she would get herself killed. With Eret, that was not the case.

After a moment, Hiccup turned to to his buddy. Toothless was actually asleep. Hiccup shook his head again, and leaned against Toothless for some warmth.

He looked up at the sky, watching some of the clouds more along from the wind. He watched the stars disappear, and reappear when the cloud continued on it's way. The night was peaceful. Suddenly, he realized it was the first peace he had had in months. Between his chief duties, taking care of the people on the island, fixing roofs with Toothless, repairing The Great Hall, and anything else that happened along their little island...This was what he missed about not being chief.

For a small period of time, he was feeling carefree. He didn't allow the possibility of an ambush overtake his mind. Or the thoughts of upset villagers weigh on his shoulders. He was Hiccup, the inventor, the dragon trainer, best friend to Toothless. In fact, he was all those things, and much more...

Son of Stoick the Vast, Son of Valka, Friend to all dragons, Chief of Berk, Husband to Astrid, the Peacekeeper, Mr. Small but Mighty...He chuckled at that last little bit.

Just as he was dozing off to sleep, suddenly he felt Toothless jump to his feet.

"Bud-"

Toothless let a low growl escape his lips, and then the growl deepened.

"Toothless-"

Hiccup jumped onto his buddy, locked his leg in place, and Toothless went to the sky. He rushed off of Berk and towards the ocean.

"Toothless-what is it?"

Hiccup realized they were going beyond the sea stacks. Not much farther would be their two mile marker that Hiccup had enforced into the patrol to keep watch over. Toothless was over that.

"How can you hear this far out?" Hiccup said quietly.

Toothless turned his head and slapped Hiccup in the face.

"Oh, fine!"

Suddenly, Hiccup realized the lights in boats farther ahead, Instead of allowing Toothless to move in closer, he pulled him back to stop. Hiccup was speechless.

Easily 20 boats were just past the views of Berk, past that he had asked his friends to keep a watch over. How long had they actually been there lurking and waiting?

Hiccup pulled out his spyglass, and rested it on the sail of one of the boats.

"Berzerkers."

Hiccup moved his spyglass over each sail, and all of them had the Berzerker symbol of the Skrill. All but one...Which had the Outcast symbol on it. It was the largest boat there. It had to be Dagur's.

Hiccup felt sick suddenly.

"Heather," he whispered to himself. He pulled Toothless away from the ships. "C'mon, bud, we have to get home."

...

Heather pounded her fist on the table in The Great Hall. She was furious at the news Hiccup had just given her.

"I thought they trusted you, Heather," Fishlegs said to her.

"They did," said Heather. "I-I..." Her face fell. "At least they did before."

"What would have changed?" asked Hiccup.

Heather didn't make eye contact with them, but she was staring intently at the table she stood at. She sighed. "The only thing I can think of is that I have been gone from there too long. They allowed me to run the island since I was Oswald's daughter, but since-"

"Since you took off to help me, they didn't have their leader," said Hiccup. He bit the inside of his lip. He felt guilty. "I am sorry, Heather."

"Do not blame yourself for my mistake, Hiccup," Heather said to him, pointing at him intently. "I am the one that chose to leave. I told them I would be back. They had everything running smoothly without me. I'm surprised."

Hiccup glared at her. "If I hadn't distracted you from your home, this may not have happened."

"How do we even know Big Brother Dagur even took over the Berzerkers?" Ruffnutt asked. She was sitting on a beam in the roof of The Great Hall. "Why would they believe him over you anyways?"

"Yeah, like, he's been in prison for years," said Tuffnutt. He was hanging upside down on the same beam she was on. "How can he just swoop right in and take over like that?"

Heather sighed. "Because they want a descendant of Oswald. I failed to return to them. I never thought that he would ever go there and gain their trust." Everyone could see she was half in tears. She was torn up, and kicking herself mentally.

"Hiccup, I'd do it all over again in a heartbeat if I could," she said. "I would have left to help you get out of Outcast Island."

Hiccup gave her a slight smile. "Believe me, I am glad you came."

"So-what do we do now?" asked Fishlegs.

Hiccup sighed. "They are just past our patrols. I think Dagur knew how far I asked for protection. But, how?"

"All he would have to do is send one boat out and see how far out we were flying," said Snotlout. "Dagur isn't as dumb as we think he is."

"Well, joke's on us," said Ruffnutt. "We messed up."

"No-Hiccup messed up," said Tuffnutt.

"Would you knuckle heads just shut it!" Snotlout yelled. "It's almost day break and I am already out of bed! I still need my beauty sleep for crying out loud!"

Hiccup rubbed his temples in frustration as Ruffnutt and Tuffnutt continued to argue with Snotlout. He was trying his hardest not to yell and lose patience with his friends. "Why-do-I-put up with this?"

"Where's Astrid?" Heather asked.

"I didn't wake her," Hiccup said. "If I did she would be out there right away on Stormfly. I don't want her out on patrol right away."

"Hiccup, do we have a plan or not?" asked Fishlegs.

"I'm working on it, Fishlegs," said Hiccup. Finally, the twins and Snotlout had gone far enough with their bickering. Hiccup picked up a stray dish that was lying on the table in front of him and threw it directly at the post Snotlout was standing near. It shattered. The arguing stopped, and he had their attention.

"Thank you very much," he said to them. He rubbed his stiff shoulder. Doing that pained it just enough. He turned to look at the map. He had an idea.

"I wonder if they are looking for gaps in our patrol," he said. "They had the opportunity to attack last night with the storm, but didn't. I wonder why."

"That storm wasn't too terribly bad," said Heather. "Maybe they considered it not so bad they didn't feel safe attacking just in case our patrol was still up."

Hiccup nodded. "How many lightning strikes do you guys think there were?"

Snotlout started counting on one hand, but Fishlegs beat him to the amount.

"Four," said Fishlegs.

"Definitely not near enough to really send us back off of patrol," Heather said gently.

Hiccup pounded his fist on map. Heather realized it was directly over the cove. He was angry. "If Astrid hadn't gotten hurt, we all probably would have been on patrol all evening."

"She did get hurt, Hiccup, and they still didn't attack," Fishlegs said. "They missed their opportunity, and it was in our favor."

Hiccup nodded. "Okay, so-with it not being our stormy season, we may have enough time to figure this out. After we break here, we all go back on patrol, before the sun completely is up. This way, if they do venture towards us, they cannot see that we were not on patrol. Tonight, Toothless and I will go to the closest sea stack to them, and see if we can figure out what they are plotting. I am sure they are trying to find gaps and attack."

"So we are just going to sit back and let them come to us?" asked Snotlout. "Are you insane?"

"No," said Hiccup. "I want to know more about their fleet so when they do attack, we can be prepared. I don't think they will attack until they find a hole. Everyone needs to be on patrol. A team included."

"Won't they notice the increase in riders?" asked Fishlegs.

"Not if we keep the usual patrol out towards them. And in the mean time I'll send Snotlout out the opposite direction a little farther to make sure they didn't circle around us. The rest of us are going to start the process of securing the island from the attacks. Once darkness comes, Toothless and I are going to slip to the sea stack and see what we can find out."

"I'm coming with you," said Heather.

Hiccup nodded to her.

"Okay, guys, let's move."

...

Astrid woke up well after the sun had risen. She was procrastinating on getting out of bed, simply because her aching body was fighting her over the simple task. She slowly pushed herself up so that every muscle that was tender and stiff didn't scream.

"This is going to get old," she said to herself, sitting on the edge of her bed. As her thoughts came together, she realized Hiccup wasn't asleep in bed next to her. She turned and looked at his desk chair. It remained empty, and Toothless was not on his stone bed.

Turning back to head towards the door, she saw a single purple wild flower with a note wrapped around it, tied with a piece of maroon ribbon. She sighed, knowing fully it was from Hiccup. She hesitated slightly, but unfolded it, holding the ribbon and flower tightly in her hand. She read:

 _I love you, mi'lady. I will be back by dark._

 _Please take it easy today._

Astrid sighed. "What has he gotten himself into?"


	19. Chapter 19

Cecil heard a crash inside Gobber's shop as he was walking past it around mid-day. He went to walk past it completely, until he saw a few teenagers rushing out, laughing, holding a few weapons in their hands. He turned to stop them, but thought differently for a moment. His presents wouldn't mean anything to them. He was simply a guest on their island currently. Not someone with authority.

He did, however, decide to peek in on Gobber when he heard some muffled yells coming from inside. He leaned inside the threshold and looked around the shop. It was just as he remembered as a kid, when Gobber's father ran his. Gobber had arranged it just as his father had. The only difference he did notice was that there were dragon saddles on the far side of the shop, where yak saddles used to be prepared.

"Those, mutten-heads-" he heard Gobber yell.

Leaning into a small closet area, he saw Gobber sitting on the floor trying to push some scrap pieces of wood, metal and other items away from him. It was obvious the kids had caused some extra mayhem inside.

"Need a hand?" Cecil asked quietly.

Gobber nearly had to look twice to see Cecil standing there. He could see the man was slightly nervous standing before him. The last time Cecil had been inside the shop, multiple items came up missing shortly there after.

"If ye' wouldn't mind-'elping me to me feet," Gobber said to him. He reached his hand over to Cecil and allowed him to pull him up, most of the items dropping from his lap as he rose. Gobber leaned heavily against a desk in the closet-Hiccup's old work station to be exact. "Thank you."

"Those kids giving you issues?"

"Well, since Hiccup ordered for extra protection, I thought I'd let them have something just in case. Some of those boys 're all their mothers have protecting them. Sadly, the way they act, I don' know much 'elp they will be to them."

Cecil sighed gently, then something caught his eye. It was a sketch Hiccup had done. It was of the first blue prints he had made of Toothless's tail.

Gobber looked over and noticed Cecil eyeing the drawing on the wall.

"He's a pretty good lad, isn't he?" Gobber said to him.

Cecil looked over at Gobber. "Lad?"

Gobber moved passed him to get out of the office, and went and took a stool in the open area. Cecil took a quick glance at the drawing again, then turned away. He leaned against the doorway, and accepted a mug of warm tea Gobber handed him. It was mint-less.

"I say lad because in my eyes-he still is," said Gobber. "Stoick didn't take over Berk until he was at least five years older than Hiccup is now. He 'as hopin' to give Hiccup some more time to be a chief in training-before-"

"Drago," Cecil finished for him.

Gobber nodded. "For a young chief, I think the lad does a pretty good job. In my eyes, he's still the little ten year old dropping metal, ruinin' axes and bludgeons I had been working on for week-not the cheif."

"He's quick acting, I will say that," said Cecil.

"Is that a bad thing?" Gobber asked him.

"No, I don't think so. I mean-proactive," said Cecil. "Even with the thought of ships holding war just miles from us-he seems to be keeping a level head."

Gobber nodded. "He's a little bit more forgiving than Stoick."

Cecil suddenly became aware he had been biting the inside of his lip nervously when Gobber said those words. He was correct. If Stoick had still been chief and Cecil himself had walked into the Great Hall asking for forgiveness for all the things he had done, Stoick would have ordered him away, and if Cecil refused-

"-Stoick would of had your head," said Gobber.

Cecil nodded. "That I do not doubt." He took a sip of his tea trying to swallow it down without the mint. "Gobber, may I ask you something?"

"Yes-"

"How is it that Hiccup is more forgiving than his father? He seems a little more-open to things than what Stoick and his father was."

Gobber nodded. "What exactly do you know about Hiccup?"

Cecil leaned back against the doorway and thought for a moment. "Well, I know he's much calmer than I would have expected. Even when he was talking with Dagur, he didn't lose his patience. He was trying to talk some sense into Dagur. Let him see reason-"

Gobber nodded. "What else?"

Cecil glared at Gobber for a moment, trying to figure out what he was fishing for out of Cecil. "He's the son to Stoick and Valka, he is the chief of Berk, he is married to Astrid Hofferson. He rides a Night Fury. He's unbelievably patient, and remarkably kind. He cares for others-"

"Ay," said Gobber. "That is what gets him into trouble a lot. You see, Cecil. Hiccup wasn't exactly this-big and strong young man here on Berk. People were afraid of him-because wherever he came from, trouble wasn't far behind. He destroyed the island trying to help out, doin' more 'arm than good. Stoick didn' treat him very well. He was ashamed of his son, despite th' fact he did love him. Hiccup took after Valka-"

Cecil chuckled slightly. "He is stubborn just like she is."

"Yes-but also very kind. I'm not sayin' Stoick wasn', but with Hiccup, it's obvious."

"He isn't weak, though," said Cecil.

Gobber shook his head. "What that boy doesn't have in brawn, he makes up for in brain."

Cecil nodded. "I'm-just shocked after all the terrible things he's heard me do-he still trusts me."

Gobber suddenly eyed Cecil closely. "You haven' given him a reason not to-have ye'?"

Cecil shook his head. "No, I do not believe so."

...

Hiccup stood at the peak of the hill watching Berk's riders in the air. He watched him on his spyglass, making sure the twins weren't causing any distractions.

Something was bothering him. Something he hadn't mentioned to his friends.

He had been out riding yesterday.

Had Dagur's people seen him out riding?

To be quite honest, he was a little hesitant to get back into the air. He didn't want to risk them knowing he was alive, if they already did not. But, it was possible they had seen him and Toothless yesterday. And if they had, he was sure Dagur was angry and plotting a bigger revenge onto him.

"Why so serious?" he heard a voice come from behind him. It took his breath away for an instant, and he turned to see Astrid slowly coming up behind him.

"Why aren't you at home?" Hiccup asked her, taking her hand and pulling her close to him. He realized she was shaking, and he reached up and felt her forehead. No fever.

"It's just cold up here," she said to him.

He rubbed a few strand of hair from her face, looking at the bruise forming on her forehead from her fall the day before. He then reached into his saddle bag for a blanket and wrapped it around her. "If you got sick-"

"That would be my own doing," she said to him. She saw the worry in his eyes. He was stressed, and she could tell his mind was racing.

"Hiccup, what's going on?" she said to him.

His shoulders fell gently, and his eyes looked away from her. He was trying to come up with a lie to tell her, one that would keep her from worrying-and getting up on Stormfly.

"The truth," she said to him gently.

Before he could even say a work to her, he suddenly saw Snotlout and Hookfan soar over them and go for a landing right on the peak.

"What did you find out?" he asked Snotlout, and he walked towards their direction, leaving Astrid standing with Toothless a few yards away.

"Nothing," Snotlout said to him, sliding off of Hookfang. "I didn't see one ship with Outcast or Berzerker sails-"

Suddenly, a wave of worry went through Astrid, and she started towards he husband and Snotlout to hear more.

"So they aren't separating," Hiccup said to himself. He was thinking.

"I didn't even see a ship within ten miles of Berk that way," said Snoutlout. He rubbed his rear-end. "After all that flying-nothing."

"How long were you flying for?" Astrid asked.

"Since dawn," said Snotlout. Hiccup slapped him upside the head suddenly. "What?! What did I do?"

"You answered her," Hiccup said to him. He sighed.

"What do you expect me to do?" Snotlout said. "Ignore her?"

"Yes!" Hiccup said to him. He tilted his head back in frustration.

"What is going on, Hiccup?" Astrid asked him. "What aren't you telling me?"

Hiccup turned to her. "Do me a favor, and go back home and stay there-"

Astrid let go of her blanket and pushed him. Hiccup stumbled back a pace, in shock.

"Astrid-"

"You tell me what is going on!" she yelled at him. "You are hiding something!"

Hiccup put his hands out in front of himself, trying to calm her down. She was fired up.

"Astrid-easy, okay," he said. "Go to the house-"

"Tell me!" she yelled.

"Hiccup, just tell her already!" Snotlout said to him. "She's going to find out eventually."

Hiccup rolled his eyes, and turned back to his wife. "Astrid, please just go back home-relax-"

She pushed him again, this time he lost his footing and he stumbled backwards. She was now above him.

"Tell me!" she said.

Hiccup placed his hands on her hands. They were warm. Her hands were frozen. She then realized they felt numb from the cold. Her body was down from the incident last night. She suddenly felt a little weak.

"Astrid-" he said to her. He realized something was wrong.

She collapsed to her knees, her body aching as she did. Hiccup was immediately there, holding her up before she fell further to the ground. He was having difficulty steadying them both. Snotlout came over, and sat them both gently on the ground to keep them both steady. Astrid suddenly felt the warm tears streaming down her cold face. Burying her face into Hiccup's shoulder, she sobbed.

Here she thought she had been doing a pretty decent job holding herself together, and then this happened. Why was she suddenly so touchy? She was angry at herself, angry at her husband for not telling her what was going on. Was she so fragile because she was hurt? She never had been before.

"It's okay, Astrid," Hiccup said to her gently. "I know you are worried."

"You have no idea," she said to him through her sobs.

"I do," he said to her. "I want you safe. I don't want you out here. You are injured, and I can't have you out flying around on Stormfly. You being at home, I know you are safe. I can do my duty out here better if I knew you were safe inside."

Astrid let more tears down her face, letting Hiccup hold her close. She didn't want him to let her go.

"Tell me the truth," she whispered to him. She lifted her head up and looked at him. "Please."

Hiccup took in a deep breath, and let it escape him. "Early this morning, Toothless and I went out on a ride. Just past the patrol, we found more than a dozen ships. All Outcast-except one very large ship. Dagur has taken control of Berzerker Island. We do not know what Dagur is plotting. And I cannot do my job protecting our home and worrying about you out there on Stormfly. Please, Astrid, please go back home."

She looked at him for a moment, then nodded. He helped her to her feet when she was ready. He went to walk her home, but she stopped him, pushed herself away from him, and headed down the slope towards home.

"Astrid," he whispered. He waited helplessly as she headed down the slope. He was worried she would fall, and he wasn't alone in that worry. A few seconds later Toothless headed down the hill after her, allowing her to lean against him as they headed back towards their home.

"What am I going to do with her?" he asked himself.

Snotlout turned to him. "Since when did she crumble so easily?"

"Since I've been gone," Hiccup said to him. "I think when I came back home in the condition I was in, it traumatized her." Without noticing he was doing it, he was rubbing his sore shoulder.

Snotlout noticed, and said, "Should you even be out?"

Hiccup gave a small chuckle and embarrassingly dropped his hand to his side. "I'll be fine as long as I know she's safe."

"Hiccup, she won't be safe," Snotlout said to him. "Even if she is at home, and if and when this battle starts, Dagur will have double the people we have on Berk to attack us. Even at home, she isn't safe."

Hiccup sighed. Snotlout did have a point. At least for now, he wasn't going to worry. He needed to put that worry to the side and focus on the danger lurking out towards the sea.

 **I am struggling with this. I won't lie. I honestly do not know how I want this to go from this point forward. I hope I figure something out soon for you guys. I have had some ideas dancing in my head for a little while. I have been finding myself thinking about this story when I shouldn't be.**


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